Technical Obstacle or Place of Promise? Death and the Human Future Between Transhumanism and Christian Eschatology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14422/ryf.vol290.i1468.y2026.006Keywords:
transhumanism, death, immortality, longevity, mind uploading, eschatology, anthropology, personal identityAbstract
This article examines the tension between a conception of death as a technical obstacle to be eliminated and one that understands it as an inherent dimension of human existence, based on the dialogue between transhumanism and philosophical- theological thought. First, it examines the transhumanist imaginary that understands death as a technical problem that can be eventually overcome through biotechnology, radical life extension and mind uploading. It then analyses the anthropological assumptions of this proposal (personal identity, information reduction of the self, relation to the body, experience of time, vulnerability and socio-economic inequality). Finally, it contrasts this horizon with a Christian reading of death as a place of limit and promise, articulating the tension between “relative future” (technical project) and “absolute future” (gift of God) in light of the resurrection hope. The article argues that contemporary ways of imagining death decisively shape how life and human existence are understood today.
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