Table Of ContentOliver Krüger
Virtual Immortality –
God, Evolution, and the Singularity in Post- and Transhumanism
Cultures of Society | Volume 41
Oliver Krüger is professor for the Study of Religions at Fribourg University (Swit-
zerland). His Ph.D. which he completed in 2002 at the University of Bonn was
awarded by the German Association for the History of Religions. He then re-
searched rituals of the Wicca movement as a postdoc at the University of Heidel-
berg. This was followed by a project at Princeton University on funeral rituals in
the United States. Since 2007, Krüger has been teaching and researching at Fri-
bourg University, primarily on sociology of religion and new media and science in
relation to religion. He also served as president of the Swiss Society for the Study
of Religions.
Oliver Krüger
Virtual Immortality –
God, Evolution, and the Singularity
in Post- and Transhumanism
Translated from German by Ali Jones and Paul Knight
The translation of this work was funded by the Faculty of Humanities (Fribourg
University) and by Geisteswissenschaften International – Translation Funding for
Work in the Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint initiative of
the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, the collecting
society VG WORT, and the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German
Publishers & Booksellers Association).
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nation-
albibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://
dnb.d-nb.de
© 2021 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or uti-
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Cover layout: Maria Arndt, Bielefeld
Cover illustration: Graphic based on the poster for »Metropolis« by Fritz Lang
Translation: Ali Jones and Paul Knight
Proofread: Graeme Currie
Printed by Majuskel Medienproduktion GmbH, Wetzlar
Print-ISBN 978-3-8376-5059-4
PDF-ISBN 978-3-8394-5059-8
https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839450598
ISSN of series: 2703-0040
eISSN of series: 2703-0059
Printed on permanent acid-free text paper.
Contents
ForewordtotheEnglishEdition ............................................................... 11
AWhoisWho?ofPost-andTranshumanism..................................................15
1. Virtuality,Media,andImmortality.An Introduction ......................................19
Part I
Humans and Media
2. Virtuality ............................................................................... 29
2.1 VirtualityandTime.......................................................................31
2.2 VirtualityandSpace..................................................................... 37
2.3 VirtualityandCorporeality............................................................... 40
2.4 Virtuality,Reality,andtheImaginary..................................................... 43
3. PrometheanShame......................................................................51
3.1 HumanBeingsandTechnologyintheWorkofGüntherAnders .............................51
3.2 VirtualityandDeath ..................................................................... 55
Part II
Technological Posthumanism
4. Transhumanism .........................................................................61
4.1 Post-andTranshumanism................................................................61
4.2 IntellectualPredecessorsandtheTranshuman........................................... 62
4.3 EarlyTranshumanism:Ettinger,FM-2030,Leary.......................................... 68
4.4 TheExtropyInstituteandthe(Vita-)Mores................................................ 75
4.5 TheWorldTranshumanistAssociation/humanity+....................................... 78
4.6 OtherActorsandInstitutions ............................................................ 82
4.7 ReligiousandSpiritualTranshumanism .................................................. 87
4.8 Conclusion.............................................................................. 89
5. TechnologicalPosthumanism............................................................91
5.1 ThePosthumanandPosthumanism ..................................................... 92
5.2 TheFaceofPosthumanism.............................................................. 95
FrankTipler............................................................................. 95
MarvinMinsky........................................................................... 98
HansMoravec...........................................................................100
RayKurzweil ........................................................................... 103
5.3 PosthumanismandArt ..................................................................105
6. AHistoryofTechnologicalPosthumanism..............................................115
6.1 Writingthe“HistoryoftheFuture”........................................................115
6.2 HowWeBecamePosthuman.............................................................118
L’HommeMachine.......................................................................120
SimulationandIdentity..................................................................129
TheCyberneticParadigm................................................................140
TheMeasureofPerfection:WorkandKnowledge.........................................151
6.3 AnnihilationorInfiniteProgress......................................................... 158
Death,Entropy,andtheAnnihilationofAllLife .......................................... 158
TheSacrificeofHumankind..............................................................164
ProgressandPerfectibility...............................................................170
EvolutionandtheEmergenceofLife.....................................................177
FrankTipler’sPhysico-Theology..........................................................190
6.4 Singularities.............................................................................197
CosmologicalSingularityandBlackHoles ................................................199
TheTechnologicalSingularity............................................................201
TheLawofProgressandtheEndlessFrontier.............................................212
6.5 Immortality..............................................................................218
PosthumanandImmortal................................................................218
FromLongevitytoComputer-AidedImmortalization.....................................224
ImmortalityinScienceFiction ..........................................................236
CryonicsandtheSuspensionofDeath ..................................................244
TechnologicalImmortality .............................................................. 257
6.6 TheTranscendentalSuperintelligence...................................................260
TranscendenceandtheSuperhuman....................................................260
Mind,Genius,andSuperintelligence.....................................................263
6.7 Omega................................................................................. 276
TheCosmicConsciousness............................................................. 276
TeilharddeChardin,McLuhan,andtheNoosphere........................................281
7. Virtuality.Immortality in the Age of Digital Media.......................................291
7.1 Economy...............................................................................292
7.2 ControlandContingency................................................................ 297
7.3 SecularProgressandChristianSalvationHistory........................................ 301
7.4 TheEndoftheAffronts .................................................................310
Appendix
ListofAbbreviations.........................................................................317
Bibliography..................................................................................319
a)Literature.............................................................................319
b)Movies,TVseries,anddocumentaries................................................345
c)Videos(online).......................................................................346
IndexofNames..............................................................................348
inmemoriam
DavidLavery(1949-2016)
wholefttooearlyforthestars
