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Presentation of the Colloquium Project Traditional and New Enhancing Human Cybernetic and Nanotechnological Body Modification Technologies: A Comparative Study of Roman Catholic and Transhumanist Ethical Approaches Michael J. Caligiuri A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree in Religious Studies Department of Classics and Religious Studies Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Michael Caligiuri, Ottawa, Canada 2013 ii Acknowledgements in memoriam matris carissimae Ninetta Gaetana Caligiuri manus cui cunabula curae mundum regit For Theodore and Calum Model teachers and men For my Surrogate Family in Ottawa This work happened because of you For the Crowned One Always loved and remembered For my Professors in Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa Professional of course but also caring gratias vobis ago iii Abstract Advances in cybernetic and nanotechnological body modifications currently allow for enhancements to human physical and mental function which exceed human species-based norms. This thesis examines body modification and human enhancement from two perspectives—Roman Catholicism and Transhumanism— in order to contribute to bioethical deliberations regarding enhancement technologies. Roman Catholicism has a longstanding tradition of bioethical discourse, informing the healthcare directives of Roman Catholic institutions. Transhumanism is more recent movement that endorses body modifications and human enhancements as a means of individual betterment and social evolution. The thesis first considers definitions of human enhancement and levels of normalcy in connection to cybernetic and nanotechnological bionic implants, and outlines a series of criteria to assess a technology’s potential bioethical acceptability: implantability, permanency, power, and public interaction. The thesis then describes Roman Catholicism’s response to non-enhancing decorative body modifications (cosmetic surgeries, common decorative modifications such as tattoos and piercings, and uncommon modifications such as scarifications and brandings) in order to establish a basis for possible Roman Catholic responses to enhancing cybernetic and nanotechnological modifications. This is followed by an analysis from a Roman Catholic perspective of the major social issues brought forward by enhancement technologies: commodification, eugenics, vulnerability, and distributive justice. Turning to Transhumanism, the thesis describes the origins and philosophy of the movement, and then discusses the bioethical principles it advances with regard to human enhancement. The thesis concludes by locating points of convergence between Transhumanism and Roman Catholicism that could be the basis of more widely accepted ethical guidelines regarding modification technologies. iv Table of Contents: 1. Introduction A. Our changeable bodies ……………………………………………….. 1 B. The need for bioethical reflection on cybernetic and nanotechnological body enhancements………………………………. 11 C. The need to consider both religious and secular responses to cybernetic and nanotechnological enhancements………………….. 22 i. Origins……............................................................................... 24 ii. Importance…………………………………………………..... 25 iii. Influence…………………………………………………….... 27 iv. Diversity……………………………………………………… 29 v. Reflexivity……………………………………………………. 30 D. The responses selected for consideration: Roman Catholicism and Transhumanism…………………………………….. 31 2. Literature review of human enhancement………………………………………. 35 A. Cybernetics/cyborg…………………………………………………… 37 B. Bionics………………………………………………………………... 43 C. Nanotechnology………………………………………………………. 45 D. Enhancement, treatment, and augmentation………………………….. 50 E. What is ‘normal’?.................................................................................. 55 3. A methodology for the assessment of technology………………………………. 66 A. Assessing a technological modification ……………………………… 66 B. Modern applications of enhancement technologies…………………... 74 4. Roman Catholic approaches to non-enhancing body modifications …………… 95 A. Sources of Roman Catholic bioethics………………………………… 98 B. Roman Catholic approaches to common non- enhancing modifications……………………………………………… 112 i. Cosmetic procedures…………………………………………. 113 a) Roman Catholic ethical opinion……………………… 116 b) Magisterial and papal pronouncements………………. 119 c) Principles derived from patristic and medieval tradition………………………………... 122 d) Summary……………………………………………… 132 ii. Tattoos and piercings…………………………………………. 133 a) An overview of common decorative body modifications…………………………………… 134 b) Roman Catholic approaches to tattoos and piercings…………………………………………. 138 1) Applications of the Catechism and virtues…… 139 2) Unofficial Roman Catholic positions………… 147 C. Roman Catholic approaches to uncommon non-enhancing decorative body modifications…………………………………………………… 158 D. Roman Catholic guidelines for non-enhancing decorative body v modifications…………………………………………………………. 160 5. Roman Catholic approaches to enhancing body modifications ………………... 166 A. Roman Catholic perspectives on biomedical research and experimentation………………………………………………………. 167 B. Roman Catholic responses to ethical problems raised by enhancement technologies……………………………………………. 175 i. Commodification …………………………………………….. 175 ii. Eugenics and vulnerability…………………………………… 179 iii. Social and distributive justice………………………………… 188 C. Summary of Roman Catholic guidelines for enhancement technologies…………………………………………………………... 200 6. Transhumanist approaches to enhancing body modifications…………………... 204 A. The philosophy of Transhumanism…………………………………... 204 B. The Transhumanist bioethical approach……………………………… 209 i. Betterment…………………………………………………….. 212 ii. Libertarianism………………………………………………… 214 iii. Research and experimentation………………………………... 216 iv. Risk…………………………………………………………… 217 v. Reason………………………………………………………… 219 C. Transhumanist perspectives on issues raised by enhancement technologies…………………………………………………………... 222 D. Application and assessment of enhancement technologies…………... 229 7. Guidelines on enhancement technologies………………………………………. 238 A. Rationales and comparisons between responses……………………… 239 i. Eschatology…………………………………………………… 240 ii. Teilhard de Chardin…………………………………………... 242 iii. Conversion……………………………………………………. 246 B. Catholic-Transhumanism? …………………………………………… 250 C. Conclusions…………………………………………………………… 270 Appendix: Decorative Body Modification Images…………………………………… 278 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….. 283 1 Chapter 1—Introduction A. Our changeable bodies Given the funds, time, and inclination, altering one’s body has become a simple set of purchases. One can decide upon body size, shapes, features, colours, and maintenance regimes. Particularly in westernized societies, one may choose to tuck, enlarge, reduce, colour, tattoo, implant, lift, smooth, electrolyze, replace, remove, and even heighten. Our bodies are creeping towards a future where cosmetic changes are common and body modifications include increasingly innovative technological integrations. The introduction of advanced technologies body modifications are beyond simple cosmetic changes. Current applications of nanotechnological and cybernetic implants give rise to a series of new options for individuals seeking to change their natural, or original, body forms. With these new options come challenges to existing definitions, justifications, and moral estimates of body modifications. Both traditional cosmetic and new technological body modifications have thus far garnered little attention in religious bioethical reflection, yet they bring out a number of important issues beyond the physical alterations of the body: aesthetic choice, compassionate restorations, equality and fairness, the worth of function, and consumerism, to name but a few. Is a body modification ethically justifiable simply because technologies and personal whim make it possible? Given the right to personal opinion, pluralities, and autonomy, are there any guidelines to traditional and advanced body modifications that go beyond mere safety standards? A cursory examination of human body modification reveals differing levels of actual physical alterations. These include simple tattooing or decorative productions, cosmetic surgeries to repair or augment physical features, and technological 2 modifications such as prostheses, medical apparatuses, or implantable devices which restore functionality or even augment body abilities. There are gradations to the complexity and levels of physical change that each of these types of body modifications allow: tattooing may be minimal to full bodied; one may choose simple cosmetic surgery such as a rhinoplasty or one may elect radical reconstructive surgery that would alter nearly all parts of one’s self; a technological medical implant may be as innocuous as a hearing aid or as remarkable as a set of bionic legs. Each type of body modification can vary across cultural lines, restricted only by trends in social acceptability, economic availability and technical legality. Examining these procedures in a primarily North American context, we find decorative body modifications, cosmetic alterations, and technological augmentations growing in popularity and in technological prowess. For example, cosmetic surgery is no longer limited to restorative surgery in cases of disfigurement or dysfunction. According to a 2007 Medicard Finance survey within Canada, 20% of the respondents surveyed have had some type of cosmetic surgery,
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