Ghost in the Shell, part III: Transhumanism and Salvation

This is my third article on Ghost in the Shell and transhumanism. You can find the first one here and the second here. 

Christianity has interacted with all of the world’s major philosophies. See Plato, Aristotle, and stoicism for classical examples. Look to communism, existentialism, and libertarianism for more modern. If there’s a philosophy out there, someone, somewhere has asked, “What happens if I mix this with Christianity?”

What happens if you mix Christianity with transhumanism?

Ghost in the Shell provides a negative answer, in that as far as I know, Christianity never makes an appearance in GITS. None of the characters ever mention God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit.

There are no churches, no clergy, and no references to Jesus. And no one ever expresses any concern about sin or salvation. Characters do act when they see the poor and weak being exploited- but generally, this is when they’re faced with extreme situations.

Example: In GITS 2: Innocence Batou, Togusa, and the Major (who has uploaded her consciousness to the web) stop a corporation from using homeless immigrant children to make robot-prostitutes for the rich.  This happens as a part of their investigation into other, related matters. They don’t fight to totally eradicate the exploitation- they just stop this one extreme example.

The general attitude of the GITS universe is that you can’t stop bad things, but you can limit the damage. Also, the bad things aren’t called “evil.” The bad and the good exist on a spectrum. Two sides of one coin, if you will.

The Ghost in the Shell universe is bleak, amoral, and unconcerned about religion. Thus, the transhumanism of Ghost in the Shell answers the question above with, “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

A contemporary of the 1995 Ghost in the Shell film provides a positive example. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a 24-episode series that aired in Japan in 1995. NGE tells the story of fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari and the agents of NERVE.  Shinji’s is brought to Tokyo-3 to pilot an Eva, a giant humanoid robot. Angels (complete with Biblical-sounding names like Sachiel, Shamshel, and Ramiel) are attacking Tokyo-3 and only the Evas can stop them.

The angels’ motivations and all the other usual who, what, when, where, why, and how questions are part of a complicated and somewhat incoherent mystery plot. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion is full of Christian imagery.

There are angels, of course, and the Evas are named after Eve. There are also references to Adam, as well as medieval relics such as the Lance/ Spear of Longinus. Even the Dead Sea Scrolls play a part in the plot.  The cross appears regularly- as jewelry worn by important characters, as the torture device it originally was, and in many large explosions (blasts literally take the shape of the cross).

Neon Genesis is also full of transhumanism.

Halfway through the series, viewers learn that a committee called SEELE (German for “soul”) is mostly comprised of bodiless, digital men. The men of SEELE want to use the Evas and other technology to bring about the Human Instrumentality. From the NGE Wikipedia page:

In English, Instrumentality is a reference to Instrumentality of Mankind, from Cordwainer Smith’s sci-fi novels. In the original Japanese, however, it is referred to as 補完 (Hokan). “Ho” translates literally to “supplement, supply, make good, offset, compensate, assistant, learner” and “kan” to “perfect, completion, end”. translate literally to “complete” or “completion”.

In many early fan translations, it is referred to as “Complementation”. This nuance can be understood as the separate, individual egos of humankind being complemented by others. Alternatively, it can also have a nuance of “perfecting” humanity into a superior being. 

In other words, SEELE wants to perfect humanity through technology. They’re not altruistic, though. Committee members hope that by initiating and guiding the process, they can make themselves the most powerful beings (gods) in the new post-human world.  There’s lots more of transhumanism in NGE- but the example of SEELE gets to the heart of it.

Neon Genesis acknowledges the existence of the supernatural

This matters because transhumanism generally dismisses anything beyond the material realm. Anything that you can’t physically manipulate (personality, thoughts, etc…) is data, and data is another type of substance.

In addition to the angels, NGE features a foundational world-spirit as part of the plot. The qualities and identity of the spirit are left vague and undefined in NGE, save for one point: it’s a resource that can be harnessed and exploited by humanity. Late in the plot, viewers learn that NERVE imprisoned the world-spirit’s body and used it to create the Evas.

The supernatural, it treats it in a materialistic manner.

Neon Genesis Evangelion, like Ghost in the Shell, has no clergy or churches.

The religious imagery is shallow and for show- there’s no Christian theology, ethics, or morality behind them. NGE’s characters are all either soldiers or technicians. Throughout the entire plot, characters either defeat enemies through violence, or use their intellects to find technological solutions. They never pray or otherwise reach out to a Higher Power.

The fifth and final point is that Neon Genesis Evangelion enshrines competition at the heart of its mystery plot. The angels represent alternative evolutionary avenues. Humanity must compete and win against them to continue existing.  Physical and intellectual strength and the will to dominate are all that matter- only the strong survive.

When you add these points together, the result is a world where:

1. Humans survive only by their smarts or their strength.
   • There are no limits or boundaries.
   • Supernatural powers are resources to be exploited and…
2. There is no authority above or beyond humanity.
   • Religious imagery is just for show. 
   • Survive by any means necessary.

So what happens if you mix Christianity and transhumanism? You get something that has the outward appearance of Christianity, but inwardly has no resemblance.

Why this matters: one of Christianity’s central claims is that God loves everyone equally, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick, the privileged and the oppressed. Everyone matters to God and there are no exceptions. When God the Father sent God the Son to save everyone from eternal death, He meant everyone. The poorest beggar who confesses that Jesus is Lord is just as saved as the grandest, most pious, Pope 

Transhumanism, on the other hand, is full of exceptions. Ghost in the Shell regularly references the cost of the technology and the expertise required to use it. Only the privileged few will be saved from death. This salvation is ultimately only a temporary thing that depends on the quality of the technology. Data degrades over time, after all. Neon Genesis Evangelion covers transhumanism’s bleak fatalism with a religious veneer and adds competition to the mix. The privileged fight and kill to secure their place among the select. The poor, outcast, and oppressed have no chance.

Transhumanism makes for interesting science fiction, but as an applied philosophy, creates horrors. It is a view of the world that Christians can and should reject.