Harry Potter and the Aims of Transhumanism: A Magical Critique of Technological Immortality

Author:

Dunne John Anthony1

Affiliation:

1. Bethel Seminary, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, United States

Abstract

Harry Potter can be read as a critique of transhumanist aims of achieving immortality or radical superlongevity. The salience of transhumanism for Harry Potter is seen through the way that magic functions as an analogue to technology, and through the centrality of death throughout the series. Transhumanists pursue radical superlongevity by three pathways: bioengineering, cyborg engineering, and mind uploading. Each of these pathways, when applied heuristically to the magical pursuit of immortality in Harry Potter, receives explicit rejection in the text alongside the commendation of Harry’s nonpursuit of it. By way of analogy, Harry Potter's perspective on death and immortality, which is informed in part by the Christian tradition, offers readers a critique of certain transhumanist aims along the lines of other ethical and religious analyses of the movement, and speaks to the deep desires and longings lying at their heart.

Publisher

University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)

Subject

Religious studies,Cultural Studies

Reference84 articles.

1. Adler, Shawn. 2007. “‘Harry Potter’ Author J. K. Rowling Opens Up about Books’ Christian Imagery.” MTV News, 17 October. https://www.mtv.com/news/1572107/harry-potter-author-jk-rowling-opens-up-about-books-christian-imagery/.

2. Harry Potter and the (Post)human Animal Body

3. Human Genetic Enhancements: A Transhumanist Perspective

4. IN DEFENSE OF POSTHUMAN DIGNITY

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3