Faith, Tools, and the Future of Being Human
Agency: The ability to form a goal, choose, and act. People with limited agency still have full human worth.
Autonomy: Having a real say in your own life. It needs clear information, real options, and freedom from unfair pressure.
Enhancement: A change that adds to an ability beyond a chosen starting point. People may disagree about which starting point to use.
Human dignity: The worth every person has, regardless of ability, health, or usefulness.
Humanism: Views that stress human well-being, learning, and dignity. Some are religious; others do not base their beliefs on God.
Identity: What makes someone the same person over time. Different views focus on the body, mind, soul, or relationships.
Informed consent: Agreement based on clear facts and a real choice. A signature alone does not prove it.
Moral responsibility: The duty to answer for choices and conduct. It should match a person's knowledge, role, and control.
Providence: God's care and rule over creation. Christian traditions explain its link to human freedom in different ways.
Stewardship: Caring for what has been placed in our hands. It treats abilities, resources, and relationships as gifts to care for, not things we own without limits.
Therapy: Care meant to treat a condition or help a person function. Its boundary with enhancement can be hard to draw.
Transhumanism: Views that favor using technology to greatly expand human abilities. Supporters disagree about methods, social rules, and faith.
Series contentsReader’s glossaryEditorial source note and AI-assistance disclosure
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