Transhumanism and Catholic Social Teaching

This paper offers a Christian ethical evaluation of transhumanism. It employs a two-part framework. First, the paper contextualizes transhumanism within the evolutionary cosmology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and thereby suggests a theological openness to technologically influenced development as part of an ongoing cosmogenesis towards greater consciousness, or the Omega Point. Second, the paper critically evaluates transhumanist values against five key principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST): natural law, human dignity, human flourishing, the common good, and care for creation. While the Teilhardian lens does indeed allow us to interpret certain transhumanist goals as potentially conducive to humans, the CST assessment reveals serious ethical concerns that must be addressed. These concerns include threats to inherent dignity through the reductionism of the human person, the potential unchecked exacerbation of current social inequality, and significant conflicts with the care of creation stemming from an unchecked technocratic paradigm as described in Laudato Si’. This paper concludes that while engagement with transhumanism is necessary, a Christian perspective should strive to ensure that technological advancement remains subordinate to the universal dignity of all persons, the common good, and authentic flourishing in communion with God.