Becoming gods

Abstract

The central question of this work is whether humans are capable of realizing the unity of thought and being, i.e., the complete truth of the universe and our place in it, i.e., absolute knowing. This question is pursued from the point of view of several different conceptions of the nature of philosophy. Part I considers this question from the point of view of the Platonistic conception of philosophy. The conclusion of part I is that absolute idealism offers the best prospect for the Platonist who believes that humans are capable of realizing the unity of thought and being. Part II is a skeptical critique of the conclusion of part I. It is argued that there is little reason to suppose that humans are capable of realizing the unity of thought and being, given the Platonistic conception of philosophy. In part III this question is pursued from the point of view of philosophical naturalism. This view is also subjected to a skeptical critique. It is argued that there are good scientific reasons for supposing that humans are incapable of realizing the unity of thought and being, given that they pursue this goal along naturalistic lines. Part IV suggests the outlines of an experiment which would put to the test the question of whether humans are capable of realizing the unity of thought and being. By genetically manipulating the human genome it may be possible to create beings which are as far removed from humans in intelligence and comprehension as humans are from chimpanzees. If this experiment succeeds then these newly created beings will have a much better chance than humans of realizing the unity of thought and being. It is argued that these beings might merit the name 'gods'. Part IV also considers the pragmatists' rejection of the central question of this work. It is argued that the experiment described provides a rejoinder to the pragmatist. Show more