Sergius Bulgakov's Critique of N. F. Fedorov's Technologized Resurrection (And Why It Still Matters for the Christian Dialogue With Transhumanism)

Abstract

Sergius Bulgakov (1871-1944) was one of the centrally important Russian Orthodox theologians of the past century. His theological system (Sophiology) is among the most detailed and comprehensive attempts at a novel, Orthodox systematic theology developed in engagement with western philosophical and theological movements. His first major work of theology, Unfading Light (1917), incorporates an early Orthodox critique of the radical Christian transhumanism propounded by Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov (1829-1903). Fedorov had developed an account of humanity's prospects for a technologically facilitated eschatology. The goals of this article are: (1) to provide a concise summary Fedorov's ideas on technologized resurrection; (2) to provide an overview of Bulgakov's sympathetic critique of Fedorov's model; and (3) to discuss the ongoing relevance of that critique vis-à-vis current and future Christian dialogue with the transhumanist movement.

Spirituality and Technology: A Threefold Philosophical Reflection

“…Dessauer (1927) interpreted technological development as human participation in God's creation, and Hefner (2002, 2003) emphasized that technology is an essential dimension of the spiritual process of becoming humans, a quest with a marked transcendent orientation. Thus, it is no surprise that in our technological age some ideologies have arisen that assign technology a salvific pseudo‐religious role, such as transhumanism (Dumsday 2020; Leidenhag 2020) or accounts of the Internet as an evolutionary leap forward in human collective spiritual journey (Cobb 1998; Campbell 2005). Not in vain are Silicon Valley ideologists often called “tech gurus.”…”