The Transhumanist Concept of Self-optimization in Religious-pedagogical Reflection

Abstract

The contemporary culture is explicitly permeated with ideas of Transhumanism. Based on principles such as technologizing and self-optimization, Transhumanism promotes the idea of constantly pushing the boundaries of immediate physical and psychological human existence. Self-optimization is about improving physical and cognitive as well as emotional and social performance. In this article, we want to explore the question of how religious education reflection takes up the transhumanist concept of self-optimization and to what extent it can be addressed in religious education. We will first focus on the basics of Transhumanism and then we will examine the topic of human nature and corporeality from a transhumanist perspective and try to implement it didactically in religious education.