Submitted by RENATA SILVA SOUZA null (renatynhass@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-26T17:42:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 O PROBLEMA DA IDENTIDADE PESSOAL ANALISADO A PARTIR DE UMA PERSPECTIVA FILOSÓFICO-INTERDISCIPLINAR.pdf: 1305015 bytes, checksum: 2b8e339b7de9928b0dc3f21448f24d19 (MD5) / Rejected by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br), reason: Solicitado pela autora. on 2017-10-30T19:57:17Z (GMT) / Submitted by RENATA SILVA SOUZA null (renatynhass@hotmail.com) on 2017-11-02T19:45:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Renata Silva Souza - O PROBLEMA DA IDENTIDADE PESSOAL ANALISADO A PARTIR DE UMA PERSPECTIVA FILOSÓFICO-INTERDISCIPLINAR.pdf: 1305034 bytes, checksum: a1e57664ae24c6b9ba18d9cd9d042980 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-11-13T13:53:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 souza_rs_me_mar.pdf: 1305034 bytes, checksum: a1e57664ae24c6b9ba18d9cd9d042980 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-13T13:53:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 souza_rs_me_mar.pdf: 1305034 bytes, checksum: a1e57664ae24c6b9ba18d9cd9d042980 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o problema da identidade pessoal em uma perspectiva filosófico-interdisciplinar. O problema da identidade pessoal consiste na dificuldade de se estabelecer critérios que possibilitem (ou não) a identificação de características constantes de um indivíduo, como sendo o mesmo, apesar das inúmeras mudanças a que é suscetível ao longo da vida. Analisaremos o problema da identidade pessoal empregando recursos da filosofia da mente, da Teoria dos Sistemas Complexos (TSC) e da filosofia da informação, os quais sustentam o eixo interdisciplinar de nossa pesquisa. Na perspectiva da TSC, ênfase é dada ao modo pelo qual as partes de um sistema interagem entre si em diferentes escalas. Os conceitos de auto-organização, emergência e de complexidade, centrais à TSC, servirão como recursos de investigação do problema da identidade pessoal. Analisaremos, como um estudo de caso, possíveis implicações de modificações corporais concebidas pelos defensores do projeto transhumanista de aprimoramento humano radical. Com a análise dos pressupostos filosóficos subjacentes ao projeto transhumanista, pretendemos ilustrar aspectos da pesquisa filosófico-interdisciplinar na investigação do problema da identidade pessoal. / The aim of this work is to investigate the problem of personal identity from a philosophical-interdisciplinary perspective. The problem of personal identity concerns the difficulty of establishing criteria that allows (or not) the identification of constant characteristics of an individual that remains the same despite the many changes that occur throughout his/her life. We will address this problem by employing resources available from the areas of Philosophy of Mind, Complex Systems Theory (CST), and Philosophy of Information (this emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed research). From the perspective of CST, emphasis is given to the ways in which different parts of a system interact with each other at various levels. The concepts of self-organization, emergence, and complexity, which are central to CST, can be of assistance in the investigation the problem of personal identity. We will analyze, as a case study, possible implications of bodily modifications conceived by proponents of the transhumanist project of radical human enhancement.Using an analysis of the philosophical criteria on which the transhumanist project is founded, we intend to illustrate ways in which aspects of philosophical and interdisciplinary research can be used to investigate the problem of personal identity.

The main point of this study was to research on how the description of biomedicine was described and valued in educational material for upper secondary school.  To assist this research, this study took the help from two theorist, Francis Fukuyama and Bart Simon. These two individual had vast differences in how they view biomedicine and its relationship with the perspective of what defines a human. Therefore it was essential that these two individuals were included to assist and aid the research, by pointing out their different argument on why biomedicine had different interpretations. The study showed that a majority of the educational materials had an open and reflective questionnaire about biomedicine and it was often built around letting the pupils think and analyze about different ethical events regarding biomedicine. Another point that also showed up was that a minority of the educational material, didn´t even mention biomedicine and instead decided to point out other part of ethics that did not include biomedicine of any sorts. While other educational material often compared biomedicine to older form of science like the race biology from the beginning of the 20th century or bringing up the argument of  crossing the line between man and God and what our roles in the world is. These educational material had a more critical view to biomedicine and had more argument that pointed out negative attributes then they did with the positive. A noteworthy point that also came out from this study, was that the majority of educational material had similar attributes and arguments that Bart Simons mention in his theories. Meanwhile those educational material that had more of a critical viewpoint toward biomedicine, followed those argument that Francis Fukuyama had discussed in his theory. The conclusion of this research showed that most of these educational material had different form of influence in their way of describing biomedicine but most had reflective and open questionnaire when regarding the description of biomedicine.

Mit Transhumanismus, Migration und Gender werden in dieser Ausgabe von Medienwelten drei aktuelle gesellschaftliche Aspekte thematisiert, die im Rahmen von Filmanalysen sowie einer empirischen Rezeptionsstudie zu den Lieblingsfilmen und Lieblingshelden von Kindern bearbeitet werden.

[pt] O fascínio da humanidade por alcançar algo além do que é dado por uma divindade pode ser encontrado em diversos episódios desde os tempos mais remotos. Nossa busca por criação, extensão e controle de diferentes formas de vida, assim como os deuses fazem, ecoa semioticamente por narrativas religiosas, mitos, produções de ficção científica e, certamente, ciência. Desde a criação mágica dos Homúnculos até a distopia de Altered Carbon, várias questões surgem desse relacionamento complexo, provavelmente devido ao benevolente ato de rebelião cometido por Prometeu, o ladrão do fogo (ou tecnologia). Embora estudos anteriores tenham investigado o consumo de tecnologia com base em diferentes perspectivas, usaram majoritariamente uma abordagem Heideggeriana e, portanto, conceberam a tecnologia apenas como uma ferramenta. Dado o consumo de tecnologias internas (insideable technologies), a maneira como experimentamos a dissolução de barreiras entre humanos e máquinas, as mudanças emergentes no status ontológico do ser humano e as consequências de fazê-lo permanecem negligenciadas. Para explorar esse fenômeno singular, baseado em raciocínio abdutivo, desenvolvi minha teorização sobre o Self Interativo, tendo como base a filosofia fenomenológica-existencial de Sartre em seus últimos trabalhos. Para isso, tive uma imersão prolongada e intensa no contexto de biohacking, especificamente grinding (ciborgues), que começou em 2017 com uma combinação de netnografia, etnografia, entrevistas fenomenológicas e autoetnografia. Para analisar o grande conjunto de dados coletados, segui os postulados da semiótica francesa, particularmente levando em conta a virada fenomenológico-existencial na Escola Parisiense de Semiótica. Como resultado dessa investigação, minha proposição teórica é que o Self Interativo é sustentado pelo processo de externalização do interno e da internalização do externo em uma dinâmica dialética e perpétua. Para amparar esse argumento e responder às minhas perguntas de pesquisa, apresento o novo conceito de duas maneiras: primeiro, descrevo a estrutura para o eterno processo de ser um ciborgue por meio do consumo de microchips com NFC. Posteriormente, promovo uma articulação dos modos de existência de Sartre dentro do aspecto da ciborguização volitiva, o que coloca a humanidade um passo mais perto de seu antigo sonho de realizar milagres semelhantes aos deuses. Ao considerar a tecnologia, não como uma mera ferramenta para um fim, como faria Heidegger, afirmo que é um objeto vivo, mágico e vibrante que tem o poder de mudar nossa condição ontológica como seres humanos. Ao fazer isso, minha pesquisa contribui para discussões sobre consumo de tecnologia, projetos de identidade e, tangencialmente, bioética na pesquisa do consumidor no contexto do Transumanismo. / [en] Humanity s fascination for achieving something beyond what is given by an Almighty divinity can be found in many episodes since ancient times. Our quest for creation, extension, and controlling different forms of life, such as gods do, has been semiotically echoed through religions, myths, SCI-FI productions, and, of course, science. From the magical creation of Homunculi to the Altered Carbon dystopian setting, several issues arise from this complex relationship, perhaps mainly because of the rebellious act of benevolence committed by Prometheus, the fire (technology)-bringer. Although prior studies investigated technology consumption from different perspectives, they mostly employed a Heideggerian approach to them and, thus, viewed the technological device as only a tool. Given the consumption of insideable technologies, the way that we have been experiencing the dissolving boundaries between humans and machines, and the emerging changes in the human ontological status, the ensuing consequences, remain overlooked. To explore this singular phenomenon, based on abductive reasoning, I developed my theorization on the Interactive Self, mostly based on Sartre s latter existential-phenomenology approach. To do so, I had a prolonged and intensive immersion in the biohacking context, specifically grinding (cyborgs), that began in 2017 with a combination of netnography, ethnography, phenomenological interviews, and autoethnography. To analyze the large collected dataset, I followed the French Semiotics postulates, especially taking into account the existentialphenomenological turn in the Parisian School of Semiotics. As a result of this inquiry, my theoretical claim is that the Interactive Self is sustained by the process of the externalization of the internal and the internalization of the external in dialectical and perpetual dynamics. To sustain this argument and answer my research questions, I present this novel concept in two ways: First, I describe the conceptual components for the ontological condition of being a cyborg by means of NFC microchip consumption. Subsequently, I promote an articulation of Sartre s modes of existence within the aspect of volitional cyborgization, which places humanity one step closer in its ancient and ongoing dream of performing god-like miracles. In considering technology not as a mere tool to an end, as Heidegger would, I argue that it is a living, magical, and vibrant matter that has the power to change our ontological condition as human beings. In doing so, my research contributes to discussions on technology consumption, identity projects, and, tangentially, bioethics in consumer research within the context of Transhumanism.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and compare a Christian and transhumanist worldview, particularly with regard to the compatibility between their views on humanity and human nature. The analysis utilizes Leslie Stevenson's analytical framework of what constitutes a theory of human nature, coupled with the philosophical method of analyzing the contents of ideas, advocated by Carl-Henric Grenholm. Through examination of articles authored by transhumanists and representatives of the Swedish church, the thesis examines how, and in what way, transhumanist visions of the technological advancements of humanity could be argued to harmonize with the Christian notions of Imago Dei and co-creation. The analysis concludes by summarizing which arguments for or against compatibility prove to be most convincing and argues that, given certain essential conditions, there could be compatibility between a Christian and transhumanist view of humanity.

This dissertation uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Stark and Bainbridge's rational choice theory of religion to analyze an established but controversial branch of science and technology, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Of particular interest are the cultural, and sometimes religious, assumptions that its creators have built into it. The purpose of this analysis is not to discredit SETI, but instead to show how SETI, along with other avant-garde scientific projects, is founded, motivated, and propelled by many of the same types of values and visions for the future that motivate the founders of religious groups. I further argue that the utopian zeal found in SETI and similar movements is not aberrant, but instead common, and perhaps necessary, in many early-stage projects, whether technical or spiritual, which lack a clear near-term commercial or social benefit. / Ph. D.

Fear is an intrinsic human emotion, which produces with variable intensity a bodily reaction as a response to a stimuli. It is considered one of the basic human emotions, and it is universal of all animal species. Despite its subjective quality, fear has gained a rather negativistic stereotype that this research intends to debate and readdress, proposing that “negative fear” is part of an evolutionary transition cultivated by social and cultural constructs. This thesis will analyze the context in which fear operates, employing experience design methodologies and design research to reevaluate the role of fear in the contemporary settings of our societies to prove its connection to imagination, transhumanism and the production of empathy. After a brief historical perspective to situate this thesis in the contemporary framework of experience design, this research will investigate fear as prolific tool for the production of imagination, derived from its aesthetic connection to wonder and pleasure. This particular connection between fear to wonder was investigated among others by Charles Darwin, who also promoted the functionality of fear as the key to animal survival. The complex mechanism in which fear engages us will lead to the production of design prototypes that look at the animal kingdom and several other species’ talents in the detection and implementation of fear as a tool to survive. Here, the potential of our species to further evolve through the use of design will open a discussion on transhumanism and the future of humanity. The last section speculates a counterfactual conditional statement of how our humanity would operate, if emotional identities were reevaluated. In particular, the emotion of fear will be reevaluated for its unpleasant characteristics, from the bodily sensations to the mental postliminary conditions, to understand why certain human behaviors are still exercised, when the physiological effects are universally acknowledged as distasteful. By interpreting the physiological impact of fear, this research will continue its argument towards empathy, questioning what it truly means to ‘stand in someone’s else shoes’, specifically when fear is practiced. Empathy, as a pilaster in the mission statement of many contemporary disciplines, has surfaced in this research as viral phenomenon, which little has to do with truly ‘empathizing’. Here, it investigates how empathy can be experienced when fear is in play: if sharing fear as the bodily experience of someone else can lead to the production of authentic empathy, then humans have a chance to reevaluate its application in the contemporary global topics of war and diplomacy, domestic and public violence, or bullying to name a few. This research ultimately establishes a new perspective on the role of emotions in our societies, and creates a connection between design and the experience of intangibles, producing a view of the intrinsic systems of our being as ones deemed of value in the ambitious evolution of our species. / <p>The full thesis contains copyrighted material which has been removed in the published version.</p>

The figure of the cyborg, or more latterly, the posthuman body has been an increasingly familiar presence in a number of academic disciplines. The majority of such studies have focused on popular culture, particularly the depiction of the posthuman in science-fiction, fantasy and horror. To date however, few studies have focused on the posthuman and the comic book superhero, despite their evident corporeality, and none have questioned comics’ readers about their responses to the posthuman body. This thesis presents a cultural history of the posthuman body in superhero comics along with the findings from twenty-five, two-hour interviews with readers. By way of literature reviews this thesis first provides a new typography of the posthuman, presenting it not as a stable bounded subject but as what Deleuze and Guattari (1987) describe as a ‘rhizome’. Within the rhizome of the posthuman body are several discursive plateaus that this thesis names Superhumanism (the representation of posthuman bodies in popular culture), Post/Humanism (a critical-theoretical stance that questions the assumptions of Humanism) and Transhumanism (the philosophy and practice of human enhancement with technology). With these categories in mind the thesis explores the development of the posthuman in body in the Superhuman realm of comic books. Exploring the body-types most prominent during the Golden (1938-1945), Silver (1958-1974) and contemporary Ages of superheroes it presents three explorations of what I term the Perfect Body, Cosmic Body and Military-Industrial Body respectively. These body types are presented as ‘assemblages’ (Delueze and Guattari, 1987) that display rhizomatic connections to the other discursive realms of the Post/Human and Transhuman. This investigation reveals how the depiction of the Superhuman body developed and diverged from, and sometimes back into, these realms as each attempted to territorialise the meaning and function of the posthuman body. Ultimately it describes how, in spite of attempts by nationalistic or economic interests to control Transhuman enhancement in real-world practices, the realms of Post/Humanism and Superhumanism share a more critical approach. The final section builds upon this cultural history of the posthuman body by addressing reader’s relationship with these images. This begins by refuting some of the common assumptions in comics studies about superheroes and bodily representations. Readers stated that they viewed such imagery as iconographic rather than representational, whether it was the depiction of bodies or technology. Moreover, regular or committed readers of superhero comics were generally suspicious of the notion of human enhancement, displaying a belief in the same binary categories -artificial/natural, human/non-human - that critical Post/Humanism seeks to problematize. The thesis concludes that while superhero comics remain ultimately too human to be truly Post/Humanist texts, it is never the less possible to conceptualise the relationship between reader, text, producer and so on in Post/Humanist terms as reading-assemblage, and that such a cyborgian fusing of human and comic book allow both bodies to ‘become other’, to move in new directions and form new assemblages not otherwise possible when considered separately.

L’intérêt marqué porté actuellement aux recherches NBIC (nano-bio-info-cognitivo technologies) visant l’optimisation des capacités humaines augure d’un profond bouleversement dans nos représentations du corps humain et du rapport humain-machine. Tour à tour, des travaux issus des domaines du génie génétique, de la pharmacologie, des biotechnologies ou des nanotechnologies nous promettent un corps moins sujet à la maladie, mieux « adapté » et surtout plus malléable. Cette construction en laboratoire d’un corps amélioré fait amplement écho aux préoccupations contemporaines concernant la santé parfaite, le processus de vieillissement, l’inaptitude, l’apparence, la performance, etc. En vue d’analyser les transformations qu’induisent ces recherches sur les représentations du corps, nous avons construit un modèle théorique appuyé, d’une part, sur des travaux en sociologie du corps et, d’autre part, sur des travaux en épistémologie des sciences. Puis, en scrutant différents textes de vulgarisation scientifique produits par des chercheurs transhumanistes – militant ouvertement en faveur d’une optimisation radicale des capacités humaines par le biais des technosciences –, il a été observé que les représentations du corps s’organisent autour de trois principaux noyaux. Le corps humain est présenté, dans ce discours, comme étant à la fois informationnel, technologiquement perfectible et obsolète. Cette représentation tripartite du corps permet aux transhumanistes d’ériger leur modèle d’action (i.e. amélioration des capacités physiques, intellectuelles, sensitives, émotionnelles, etc.) à titre de nécessité anthropologique. À leurs yeux, l’amélioration des conditions humaines doit passer par une mutation contrôlée de la biologie (i.e. une hybridation avec la machine) du fait que le corps serait « inadapté » au monde contemporain. Ainsi, les promesses NBIC, une fois récupérées par les chercheurs transhumanistes, se voient exacerbées et prennent une tonalité péremptoire. Ceci contribue vivement à la promotion du posthumain ou du cyborg, soit d’un individu transformé dans l’optique d’être plus robuste et intelligent, de moduler sa sensitivité et ses états émotifs et de vivre plus longtemps, voire indéfiniment. Enfin, situé à mi-chemin entre la science et la science-fiction, ce projet est qualifié de techno-prophétie en ce qu’il produit d’innombrables prévisions basées sur les avancées technoscientifiques actuelles et potentielles. Afin d’accroître l’acceptabilité sociale de leur modèle d’action, les transhumanistes ne font pas uniquement appel à la (potentielle) faisabilité technique; ils s’appuient également sur des valeurs socialement partagées, telles que l’autodétermination, la perfectibilité humaine, l’égalité, la liberté ou la dignité. Néanmoins, la lecture qu’ils en font est parfois surprenante et rompt très souvent avec les conceptions issues de la modernité. À leur avis, le perfectionnement humain doit s’opérer par le biais des technosciences (non des institutions sociales), sur le corps même des individus (non sur l’environnement) et en vertu de leur « droit » à l’autodétermination compris comme un droit individuel d’optimiser ses capacités. De même, les technosciences doivent, disent-ils, être démocratisées afin d’en garantir l’accessibilité, de réduire les inégalités biologiques et de permettre à chacun de renforcer son sentiment d’identité et d’accomplissement. L’analyse du discours transhumaniste nous a donc permis d’observer leurs représentations du corps de même que la résonance culturelle du projet qu’ils proposent. / The current interest in NBIC research (nano-bio-info-cognitivo technologies), which are intended to optimize human capacities, points to deep-seated change in both our representation of the human body and the human-machine relationship. Again and again, the work coming out of genetic engineering, pharmacology, the biotechnologies and the nanotechnologies promises a human body that is less subject to illness, better “adapted” and, especially, more malleable. This in-laboratory construction of an improved body echoes contemporary concern about perfect health, the ageing process, inaptitude, appearance, performance, etc. To analyze the transformations this research causes in the representation of the body, we built a theoretical framework supported by studies both in the sociology of the body and in the epistemology of the sciences. Then, examining different popularized scientific documents written by transhumanist researchers—who openly advocate a radical optimization of human capacities via the technosciences—we observed that representations of the body pivot around three main axes. The human body is presented in this discourse as being informational, technologically perfectible and obsolete. This threefold representation of the body suggests that transhumanists’ plan of action (i.e. improving humans’ physical, intellectual, sensorial, emotional, etc., capacities) is an anthropological necessity. In their view, the improvement of human conditions means a controlled biological mutation (i.e., hybridization with the machine) because the body is “unadapted” to the contemporary reality. Thus, once adopted by transhumanist researchers, the possibilities of NBIC are taken to their extreme and given a peremptory tone. This actively contributes to promoting the posthuman, also called the cyborg—an individual transformed to be more robust and intelligent, to modulate its sensitivity and emotional states, and live longer, even indefinitely. Situated half-way between science and science fiction, this project is said to be “techno-prophesy” as it generates countless previsions based on current and potential technoscientific advances. To make their action plan more socially acceptable, transhumanists not only rely on its (potential) technical feasibility, but on socially shared values, such as self-determination, human perfectibility, equality, liberty and dignity. Nevertheless, their interpretation is sometimes surprising and very frequently breaks with notions that have grown out of modernity. In their opinion, human perfection must occur through the technosciences (and not via social institutions) directly on individuals’ bodies (and not on their surroundings) and according to their “right” to self-determination, which is seen as an individual’s right to optimize his or her capacities. Similarly, they maintain that the technosciences must be made democratic to guarantee accessibility, reduce biological inequalities and allow all humans to reinforce their identity and sense of accomplishment. This analysis of transhumanists’ discourse has thus allowed us to observe their representation of the body as well as the cultural resonance of the project they put forth.

Cette thèse analyse les incidences des avancées d’une rationalité technoscientifique sur les définitions classiques de l’humain. Elle discerne, dans sa présentation de ce phénomène, le lien entre la technoscience, la cybernétique et le posthumanisme qui en découle. Elle souligne les mutations et projets de remodèlement de l’humain qui traversent cette rationalité technoscientifique et son paradigme informationnel cybernéticien. Cette rationalité technoscientifique, polémique aux ontologies dites conservatrices, soutenant une vision amorale de la RDTS (Recherche & Développement technoscientifique), accouche d’un posthumanisme – en rapport difficile avec le corps – qui bouscule les définitions classiques de l’humain judéo-chrétien, dont l’anthropologie théologique évangélique. Traitant, dans une première grande section de trois chapitres, de la rationalité technoscientifique et de ses visions de l’humain, la thèse permet la mise en exergue des enjeux principaux se dégageant des nouveaux questionnements des anthropologies classiques soumises aux pressions de la RDTS. Dans la deuxième partie, encore de trois chapitres, qui porte sur l’anthropologie évangélique, la thèse situe les Évangéliques historiquement et doctrinalement, pour mieux relever les éléments identitaires du mouvement et les grandes déterminations théologiques à l’intérieur desquels se déploie cette anthropologie. La présentation de cette dernière se décline à partir des différentes compréhensions du motif anthropologique évangélique par excellence, l’imago Dei et le concept de l’unicité de l’humain dont les fondements semblent de plus en plus fragiles à la lumière des conclusions des recherches en paléontologie et en cognition animale. Si plusieurs défis importants sont posés à l’anthropologie évangélique, la thèse, se limitant à une critique évangélique de la rationalité technoscientifique et des réponses évangéliques à cette dernière, analyse une question essentielle pour la pensée évangélique, celle de l’humain homo ii faber et l’anthropotechnie, versus le remodèlement de l’humain autour des interrogations posthumanistes sur le corps et la question du salut. Cette thèse apporte une contribution 1) sur le plan de la synthèse qu’elle présente de l’anthropologie évangélique, 2) de la compréhension de l’identité évangélique, sa singularité et sa diversité, et 3) des manières dont une théologie évangélique peut entrer en dialogue avec la raison technoscientifique. Elle lève le voile sur l’utilisation tous azimuts du concept de l’imago Dei et de son insuffisance, à lui seul, pour apprécier les véritables enjeux du débat avec la rationalité technoscientique. Elle insinue que ce motif doit être analysé en conjonction avec la christologie dans l’approfondissement du Logos incarné, pour en mieux apprécier l'étendue. Ce n'est que dans ce lien qu’ont pu être trouvés des éléments capables d'articuler ce qui est en germe dans l'imago Dei et suggérer une définition de l’humain capable de prendre en considération les défis d’une rationalité technoscientifique et de son posthumanisme. / This thesis analyzes the impact of proposals by a technoscientific rationality (or RDTS) on the classical definitions of what is human. It discerns in its presentation of the phenomenon the link between technoscience, cybernetics and post-humanism which has developed from them. Then there are the mutations and projects to remodel humans which arise with RDTS and its cybernetic informational paradigm. Technoscience, with its polemics against any ontology considered conservative, supports an amoral vision of RDTS and produces a posthumanism with its difficult relation to the human body. It also disrupts classical Judaeo-Christian definitions of what is human, among which we find evangelical theological anthropology. This thesis is divided into two sections of three chapters each. The first section examines RDTS and its vision of what is human. The principal issues which recent questioning of classical anthropology has produced, arising from the pressure of RDTS developments, are examined. Then the second section of three chapters will present evangelical anthropology, beginning with the historical and doctrinal context of evangelicalism. The elements of evangelical identity are explained along with the primary theological concepts which surround this anthropology. A variety of evangelical positions will be presented, related to the imago Dei and the concept of unicity of the human. While this concept is crucial for evangelicals, it is highly contested by recent research in paleontology and animal cognition. After examining the important new challenges facing evangelical anthropology, this thesis will concentrate on existing evangelical critiques of RDTS and posthumanism and iv refining them. Then an essential question for evangelicals will be examined: the homo faber and anthropotechnie versus the remodelling of the human involved in posthumanist questioning of the body and of salvation. Three contributions emerge from this thesis: 1) a synthesis of evangelical anthropology, 2) an understanding of evangelical identity in its distinctiveness and in its diversity and 3) an identification of necessary factors for evangelical theology to employ in a dialogue with RDTS. The difficulty of using the imago Dei in all direction is demonstrated along with a denial that this concept alone can address all the serious issues RDTS raises. Rather this motif needs to be combined with Christology and particularly the incarnation of the Logos to widen the treatment of the subject. It is only with that link that necessary elements contained in the imago Dei can be articulated and a definition for the human can be made which can address the challenges of RDTS and its posthumanism.