Spiritual pragmatism: New pathways of transformation for the posthuman

Abstract

Pragmatism has been an important philosophical and sociocultural movement in the USA which has influenced our view of language, social reality and human condition. American pragmatism as cultivated by C.S. Pierce and John Dewey has influenced postwar continental philosophy in the works of seekers such as Karl Otto-Apel and Jürgen Habermas which has influenced our concepts of language and the human condition. In the works of Apel and Habermas, we see a mutual dialogue between American pragmatism and streams in continental philosophy namely Kant leading to what is called Kantian pragmatism which has opened up pragmatism to new realities and possibilities. This dialogue now needs to be broadened and needs to be part of what can be called planetary conversations. This can include dialogues with thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo and Heidegger who can help us realize the spiritual dimension of pragmatism. My essay charts the path of spiritual pragmatism which can help us rethink and transform the idea of the human in our posthuman landscape. It argues how spiritual pragmatism involves interpenetration of spiritual and material, immanent and transcendence, capability and transcendence. It also involves a transformation of anthropocentrism and a creative mutual interpenetration of human, nature and divine. Posthuman strives to go beyond the dualism of man and nonhuman, and in my essay, I argue how spiritual pragmatics can help us in overcoming these boundaries. The conventional representation of the posthuman mainly takes a technological turn, and it does not explore the challenge of divinization of the human. In my essay, I explore all the dimensions of the posthuman including humanization of the divine and divinization of the human.