Twelfth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

The age-long concept of the imago Dei is germane to mainline Christian beliefs about the creation, nature, and identity of humanity. In recent times, however, the effulgence of the imago Dei for defining humanity is gradually fading as human imagination is gradually redefining humanity on several fronts, including what self-fulfilment and human flourishing entail. The bandwidth for the possibilities of what humans can become now and in the future is becoming expansive as the power of imagination drives the quest for perfection. The transition of the age-long theology of the imago Dei to human imagination has not been given sufficient attention despite its importance to the 21st-century human narrative. Human enhancement technology is one of the ingenious endeavors birthed by the power of human imaginations, although it has been criticized for its presupposed association with dangerous ideas and imaginations laden with hubris. Despite these concerns, leveraging William James’ meliorism, this paper maintains that human-led activities and imaginations, such as human enhancement, are essential for the achievement of human flourishing on all pedestals. While human agency is indispensable for human flourishing, meliorism foregrounds that human actions must be rightly directed and hedged on caution and normative ethics which will forestall unintended consequences and concerns which may result from hubris and excessive tendencies latent in all humanity, many of which have led human societies down slippery slopes and dangerous paths in history.