Lincoln Cannon on the New God Argument at the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology Conference

Lincoln Cannon will present the New God Argument at the annual conference of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology at Utah Valley University in the Library Lecture Hall (LI 120) on 26 March at 4:00pm. Admission to the conference is free.

Abstract of the New God Argument

If prehuman life is probable then we should trust that posthuman civilization is probable. If any posthuman civilization probably has increased in destructive capacity faster than defensive capacity, and if any posthuman civilization probably creates many worlds like those in its past, then we should trust that a posthuman civilization more benevolent than us probably created our world. The alternative is that we probably will go extinct before becoming a posthuman civilization, which is an immoral position. Thus, trust in our posthuman potential, coupled with a set of empirically assessable assumptions stemming from contemporary science and technological trends, should lead us to trust in the present existence of posthuman civilizations that may qualify as God within religious traditions like Mormonism.

Bio of the Presenter

Lincoln has fourteen years of professional experience in general management, software engineering and information technology, working in the medical device and software industries for companies such as Merit Medical and Symantec. He holds a masters degree in business administration and a bachelors degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University. Lincoln served a mission to France for the LDS Church, is married with Dorothée Vankrieckenge, a French national, and is father to three bilingual children. In his spare time, Lincoln promotes awareness of philosophical implications of emerging technology, and serves as president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association.