Reason and Faith

Length: 5 pages. Option 2: Can a superintelligence—one without a body that can suffer–really understand The Golden Rule? How might the Christian notion of The Golden Rule inform a discussion about this interesting question? Use the debate between Sean Carroll and Craig, in particular evaluating Carroll’s closing argument about the value that Christian tradition has for humanity—to inform your discussion of this question. You’ll want to note the value that Christianity places on embodiedness—on the importance of the human body as a defining rather than limiting feature of human existence. Transhumanists, those latter day gnostics (!) seem to discount the importance of the body—they want to improve upon it until, perhaps one day, it’s no longer needed. Is this something we should embrace unquestioningly? What happens to our humanness if we become disembodied? What happens to Christianity if we become disembodied? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07QUPuZg05I Thats the debate. The sources can be anything. Please view the following moments in Sean Carroll’s Talk: 45:24–Naturalism vs Theism 46:42–the statement that a transcendent cause is “not even false.” 48:30–“The demand for more than a complete and consistent model that fits the data is a relic of a pre-scientific view of the world.” 48:50–Can you have a universe that is eternal, without having a beginning or an end? 49:00–“Whether or not the universe can be eternal does not come down to a conversation about abstract principles. It comes down to a conversation about building models and seeing which ones give the best account for what we see in the observable universe.” 49:40–“When Dr. Craig says ‘the universe had a beginning,’ this is false.” 51:00–“It’s true that we don’t know why the universe had low entropy at the Big Bang and that this has increased ever since. We don’t know why that is. But that is not an argument that says we cannot figure it out. There’s more than one way to figure it out.” 53:45– “Theism is not a serious cosmological model.” 53:35–“We don’t know if life would exist if the conditions of the universe were different, because we only see what we have or are able to see. There are plenty of viable multi-verse models. Aconsistent model that fits what we see in the world is a success–we cannot ask for more than that. Dr. Craig’s response is–‘Yes, you can ask for more.’” 1:17:30–“To look at a modern cosmological model and say, “Yes, but what was the cause,” is like looking at someone with an iphone taking pictures and saying, ‘where does the film go?’ It’s not that the answer is difficult or inscrutable–it’s just completely the wrong question to ask.” 1:45 to 1:55–Sean Carroll’s concession to religious practice—THIS IS CENTRAL TO THE ESSAY. MAKE SURE YOU VIEW THIS.