The New God Argument Evolves
Lincoln Cannon is an American philosopher and technologist who co-founded the Mormon Transhumanist Association in 2006, serving as its president from 2006 to 2016. He is a leading advocate of technological evolution and postsecular religion, combining software engineering expertise with degrees in philosophy and business. ¶ Cannon is also a founder and board member of the Christian Transhumanist Association. He formulated the New God Argument, a logical argument for faith in God that has become popular among religious transhumanists. His academic work includes “Mormonism Mandates Transhumanism” published in Religion and Human Enhancement: Death, Values, and Morality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and “Transfigurism: A Future of Religion as Exemplified by Religious Transhumanists” published in The Transhumanism Handbook (Springer Verlag, 2019). ¶ Mormon transhumanism, as articulated by Cannon, holds that humanity should learn how to be compassionate creators. This idea is central to the Mormon theological tradition, which provides a religious framework consistent with naturalism and supportive of human transformation. Cannon’s work bridges religious faith with scientific advancement, advocating for the ethical use of technology to extend human abilities in ways consistent with a religious worldview.
The New God Argument has evolved over the years, as I’ve worked to simplify it and present it in more accessible ways. There’s still a lot of work to do. Too bad I can’t work on it for more than small amounts of time on an occasional basis! But I enjoy the process. And I was reminded of that process, this morning, when I received a copy of the audio recording of my latest presentation of the argument. That’s available to you below. But first, here’s some history.
The Computation of Humanity
Joseph West and I formulated the first version of the New God Argument in 2008. With Chris Bradford, we completed the final touches of its first presentation on August 8, the evening before the Sunstone symposium in Salt Lake City. At the conference, we presented the argument to an audience of about 50 attendees, from what I recall. I remember being fairly nervous.
I’m not as nervous when I present it these days. Since the first presentation, I’ve explained the argument countless times to friends and family and small groups of people. And I’ve presented it to larger groups several times, including the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology and the Transhumanism and Spirituality Conference.
Probably because I’m a software engineer, I’ve also versioned the argument as it has evolved. So you can see version 1, version 2, version 3, version 3.1, version 3.2, version 3.3, and the latest version 3.4. Generally, the versions correspond with major presentations or publications of the argument.
The first publication of the argument was version 2.0 in Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision, a book edited by Scott Howe and Richard Bushman. The second publication was version 3.1 in the journal of Theology and Science. More recently, version 3.3 of the argument has been published in both Religion and Human Enhancement, a book edited by Tracy Trothen and Calvin Mercer, and in two books edited by Newton Lee: Google It and The Transhumanism Handbook.
My latest presentation of the argument was again at the Sunstone symposium, 11 years after the original presentation. This time the audience was smaller. But it included a documentary team—one of two that filmed the Mormon Transhumanist Association this summer.
I presented version 3.4 of the argument, which includes some small revisions to the syntax of the Compassion Argument. And the reception was highly positive, as usual. Once internalized and understood, the New God Argument has a tendency to shift paradigms of thought in satisfying (and mind-blowing) ways.
Someday, I hope, there will be a book—not just a chapter of a book—on the New God Argument. Friends keep encouraging me. Thank you, sincerely, for that.
In the mean time, I recommend to you two audio recordings. The first is the oldest presentation of the New God Argument at Sunstone symposium 2008. And the second is the newest presentation of the New God Argument at Sunstone symposium 2019.
Nothing like the combination of the old and the new to reinforce the argument’s meaning. Enjoy.
Syndicated from Lincoln Cannon.