The Spiritualization of Technology: The Quest for Human Perfection

This study was commissioned by the medical faculty of the University Hospital Basel to obtain an ethical framework of where the limits of nanotechnology are. The author came across highly interesting facts and correlations in a research process lasting several years. Not only medical professionals can benefit from his findings, but all Christians who want to obtain a biblically sound basis for their actions in view of the rapidly advancing developments in computer science, medicine and genetic engineering.The author begins by showing that transitional periods such as the Hellenistic era (323-31 B.C.), the late Middle Ages (1250-1500), the Renaissance (1300-1700), and the Enlightenment (1650-1800) significantly shaped the past three centuries and continue to influence our lives today: These eras laid the philosophical and religious foundation for the following developments: the mechanistic worldview emerged in the 18th century, the notion of perpetual human evolution formed in the 19th century, the belief in an omnipotent science prevailed in the 20th century, and nanotechnology is developing in the 21st century. This sheds light on two central questions posed by futurologists, genetic technologists, and nanomedical scientists: what is the nature of human beings, and how can it be changed?Next, the author of the study analyzes man's quest for perfection from several perspectives, such as the history of philosophy, the humanities and Christian ethics. It becomes obvious that the roots of perfectionism go far back to the time of Greek philosophy, Hermeticism, Gnosticism and Neoplatonism. These philosophies claim to be heirs of the "prisca theologia", the ancient theology. This theology had made the attainment of the "divinity" of man and thus the highest level of perfection its supreme goal.In conclusion, the author points out ethical norms on the basis of Christian and western values which ensure that nanomedicine is used for the benefit of the general public. In particular, this requires respectful treatment with clearly defined boundaries between machine and human. It becomes clear that the Christian notion of God's likeness in man contradicts the bizarre future vision of a transhumanist post-humanity. The author lays out in detail that real scientific and technological progress, especially in the field of nanomedicine, can best be realized on the basis of Christian ethics. Read more