DOCSLIB.ORG

Limits to Human Enhancement: Nature, Disease, Therapy Or Betterment? Bjørn Hofmann1,2

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Limits to Human Enhancement: Nature, Disease, Therapy Or Betterment? Bjørn Hofmann1,2 Hofmann BMC Medical Ethics (2017) 18:56 DOI 10.1186/s12910-017-0215-8 DEBATE Open Access Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? Bjørn Hofmann1,2 Abstract Background: New technologies facilitate the enhancement of a wide range of human dispositions, capacities, or abilities. While it is argued that we need to set limits to human enhancement, it is unclear where we should find resources to set such limits. Discussion: Traditional routes for setting limits, such as referring to nature, the therapy-enhancement distinction, and the health-disease distinction, turn out to have some shortcomings. However, upon closer scrutiny the concept of enhancement is based on vague conceptions of what is to be enhanced. Explaining why it is better to become older, stronger, and more intelligent presupposes a clear conception of goodness, which is seldom provided. In particular, the qualitative better is frequently confused with the quantitative more. We may therefore not need “external” measures for setting its limits – they are available in the concept of enhancement itself. Summary: While there may be shortcomings in traditional sources of limit setting to human enhancement, such as nature, therapy, and disease, such approaches may not be necessary. The specification-of-betterment problem inherent in the conception of human enhancement itself provides means to restrict its unwarranted proliferation. We only need to demand clear, sustainable, obtainable goals for enhancement that are based on evidence, and not on lofty speculations, hypes, analogies, or weak associations. Human enhancements that specify what will become better, and provide adequate evidence, are good and should be pursued. Others should not be accepted. Keywords: Enhancement, Disease, Therapy, Naturalness, Nature, Limits “Don't know what I want / But I know how to get (religious and nonreligious) conceptions of sanctity, dig- it.”Johnny Rotten nity, and on the notion of “playing God.” In addition, there is a restrictive camp [1], not being in principle against enhancement, but which argues for limits from Background concerns for justice and safety. However, there are few Human enhancement (HE) is defined as “any kind of specifications of how to limit HE in detail. genetic, biomedical, or pharmaceutical intervention In this article I will investigate four specific routes to aimed at improving human dispositions, capacities, or limiting HE: Naturalness, disease, therapy, and better- well-being, even if there is not pathology to be treated” ment. The corresponding research questions are: [1]. The topic has stirred vast and vivid debates, espe- cially in the bioethics literature [2–6]. 1. Do conceptions of naturalness provide resources to There seem to be two predominant camps in the de- set limits to HE? bate on HE: a permissive and a prohibitive [1]. While the 2. Does the therapy-enhancement distinction provide first camp sees few limitations to HE, the latter sees resources for setting such limits? many. While the permissive position provides arguments 3. Does the concept of disease offer sources to limit from potential benefits, the prohibitive position refers to HE? 4. Does the concept of HE itself contain means for Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] setting limits? 1Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Gjøvik, Norway 2Centre for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, Blindern, PO Box 1130, N-0318 Oslo, Norway © The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Hofmann BMC Medical Ethics (2017) 18:56 Page 2 of 11 While I will show that the first three questions do not normal process of growth. It is intrinsic, inheritable, provide convincing answers, the latter may. However, fixed in the germ plasm through the action of all of before I address these questions successively, I must ad- the forces of the Universe.” (Quoted from [11]). Most dress the following question. cultures employ a distinction between “nature” and “culture”; “man-made” and “nature-made” [12]. Ac- Why should there be limits to human enhancement? cordingly, a common understanding of medicine is There appear to be many motivations and arguments for that it works according to the norms of nature, as it why we should try to limit human enhancement. Allow restores a given harmony. me to mention a few of these: Hence, nature may provide a prima facie norm for set- ting limits to human enhancement. Let me briefly recap- Resources: HE has significant opportunity cost and itulate some of these arguments. would drain resources from more pressing needs. This of course relates to: Arguments from naturalness for limiting human Justice: There are not enough resources available for enhancement human enhancement for all, and to focus on human One argument why society should not permanently en- enhancement under such conditions can enhance hance humans is that this would alter our common un- disparity and injustice. derstanding of human excellence and flourishing in ways Humanity: Enhancement will change not only the that would undermine our social practices [13]. For ex- human condition, but humanity as such. One may lose ample, human enhancement would make us lose sight something charitable without knowing what will follow. “of why excellence is worth seeking at all, and hence Uncertainty about benefits and harms: HE may have what excellence really is, and how we pursue it as hu- unknown and potentially devastating consequences. man beings, not as artifacts” [4]. In particular, it would alter the meaning of sports, as we would come In this work I take it as a premise that HE needs to be to honor technological innovation and not talent and limited for some valid reason. At the end of the article, I athletic achievement [14]. will return to this premise. Although the traditional ap- Another argument to limit enhancement is that human proaches to set limits to enhancement may not be con- nature is a complex reality and that enhancing one aspect vincing, they may not have to do such heavy work. The of it could undermine the excellence of the whole [13]. limits to enhancement may be found in the conception Accordingly, enhancing separate abilities would “disrupt of enhancement itself. Investigating the weakness of the either the unity or the continuity of human nature” [15] arguments from naturalness, the therapy-enhancement and compromise humanity [4], e.g., by diminishing our distinction, and the concept of disease, may provide as- humanity by decreasing our appreciation for beauty, ben- sets for exploring the self-limiting potential of human evolence, and vulnerability [16]. A related concern is that enhancement. human enhancement would disturb a delicate balance in nature resulting in unintended and potentially disastrous Discussion consequences [17]. Alternatively, we obtain our enhance- Naturalness: limits in nature ment goal, but it appears to be counterproductive or Several objections to HE and arguments for its limita- undermining something cherished [18, 19]. tion are made with reference to human nature as a norm Yet another concern is that human enhancement [7]. The natural world has frequently been associated would make individuals stand outside the human spe- with order and design (Harmonia Mundi), either teleo- cies, as “post-humans” [13]. Or that human enhance- logical, mechanical, or cybernetic [8–10]. Correspond- ment would violate some special feature of human ingly, nature has been normative in many ways, e.g., nature, such as basic dignity. As expressed by Eric Co- epistemically, aesthetically, and morally. For example, hen: “All members of the human family – all living bod- our knowledge of how to heal a broken leg, how to re- ies – have a human life, and therefore deserve the store its appearance, and the impetus to do so is drawn respect that such membership commands” [20]. from the norm of a well-functioning leg of a being in its Further references to nature is made in claims “that natural habitat. handicap and limitations are inherent to human condi- An explicit expression of the norm of nature can be tion, and should be endured as given by our own indi- found in an editorial in JAMA from 1928: “The state- vidual fates” [7]. Such arguments sometimes are related ments that old age can be deferred have no more scien- to human responsibility, i.e., that altering human nature tific truth in them than the widely advertised promises would give us a responsibility that we are not suited to of rejuvenation. Senescence is a normal process of invo- handle, and sometimes related to the (religious or non- lution as necessary to the progress of life as is the religious) metaphor of “playing God” [1, 6]. Hofmann BMC Medical Ethics (2017) 18:56 Page 3 of 11 The point here is not to review all arguments from hu- what is good. Due to mutations, there is no stable man nature, but only to give a brief overview and a species-typical genome to refer to as natural [31]. backdrop for the counterarguments.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Value of Technological Idealisations to Future Ethical Thinking 81-83
    1 The Value of Technological Idealisations to Future Ethical Thinking By Adam Kelly A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2016 Year of Submission 2 3 Acknowledgements My work in this thesis owes much credit to my sole supervisor Nick Agar and fellow student Johnny McDonald. I would like to thank Nick for his encouragement, guidance and criticism. I would like to thank Nick and Johnny both for many enjoyable discussions, some of which were even related to this thesis. 4 Abstract This thesis focuses on what I have called “technological idealisations”, and how they are valuable to many current and future ethical debates. Technological idealisations refer to a methodology of using technology thought experiments to contribute to ethical debates. I do not claim this to be a new idea, and in fact will go on to give many examples of technological idealisation that already exist in the philosophical literature. The term describes the purposeful effort to collate these examples into a specific methodological framework; one which gives a particular kind of evidence which can ignore concerns of practicality and critically focus on the theoretical issues in a given debate. In order to explore this idea I will first be looking at past, better known, examples of idealisations to facilitate understanding of my own. I will look at Rawlsian ideal theory as a template for my own idealisations, as well as to explain how they can be valuable in contributing to debates (in Rawls’ case political and in my case ethical).
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Thinking and the Human: Introduction
    Journal of the Philosophy of History 14 (2020) 285–309 brill.com/jph Historical Thinking and the Human: Introduction Marek Tamm Professor of Cultural History, School of Humanities, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia [email protected] Zoltán Boldizsár Simon Assistant Professor, Institute for History, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands Research Fellow, Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany [email protected] Abstract In recent years the age-old question “what is the human?” has acquired a new acute- ness and novel dimensions. In introducing the special issue on “Historical Thinking and the Human”, this article argues that there are two main trends behind the con- temporary “crisis of human”: ecological transformations (related to human-induced climate change and planetary environmental challenges), and technological ones (including advancements in human enhancement, biotechnology and artificial intel- ligence). After discussing the respective anthropocenic and technoscientific redefini- tions of the human, the paper theorizes three elements in an emerging new historicity of the human: first, the move from a fixed category to a dynamic and indeterminate concept, considering the human as a lifeform in movement; second, the extent to which the human is conceived of in its relational dependence on various non-human agents, organic and non-organic; and third, the reconceptualization of the human not as one but as many, to comprehend that we cannot speak of human individuality in the classical biological sense. In the final part, the article addresses the consequences of the redefinition of the human for historical thinking. It makes the case for the need to elaborate a new notion of history – captured by the phrase “more-than-human his- tory”, and attuned to an emerging planetary regime of historicity in which historical thinking becomes able to affirm multiple temporalities: digital, technoscientific, socio- cultural, human, biological and anthropocenic.
    [Show full text]
  • A NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK for ANALYZING HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES by Michael Joseph Gentzel a Dissertation Submitted to John Ho
    A NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES by Michael Joseph Gentzel A dissertation submitted to John Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland July, 2015 A NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES Abstract of the Dissertation Due to the explosion of biotechnological advancements, there is a growing body of literature in philosophy concerning the moral and social issues surrounding biotechnical means of enhancing human capacities. A common trend has been to view enhancement as a homogenous category, and to either advocate for it or demonize it. This dissertation advances a moderate view, which suggests that human enhancement should not be normatively analyzed as a single and unified topic; rather, particular categories of enhancement ought to be normatively evaluated based on their own merits and demerits. In doing this, I suggest that concerns about harm to others have not received adequate attention. Addressing the diversity of human enhancements and their potential to create harm to others should play a more prominent role in evaluating specific forms of biotechnology used for human enhancement. This dissertation has two main divisions: a theoretical section and an applied section. In the first section, I develop an interpretation of Joel Feinberg’s conception of harm along with his version of the harm principle. According to this model of harm, A harms B when A unjustly damages B’s interests. The harm principle holds that the prevention of harm to others or the risk of harm to others is always reason in favor of legislation that limits individual liberty.
    [Show full text]
  • Societas Proposal
    Societas Ethica 2011 Proposal Enhancement for All?: A Feminist Ethical Analysis of the Discourses and Practices of Democratic Transhumanism In the past few years, democratic transhumanism has emerged as the primary voice working toward mainstreaming the transhumanist movement in popular discourse. Through the work of groups like the World Transhumanist Association (recently rebranded Humanity Plus) and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, democratic transhumanism has worked to blend transhumanist ideals with progressive democratic values. They have begun to distance themselves from libertarian and other transhumanists, claiming the mantle of “technoprogressivism.” Technoprogressives are seeking to position themselves as a “middle way” (http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/biopolitics) between technoutopianisms (including libertarian transhumanism, extropianism, and other technopositive movements) and technoconservatisms (including both left and right bioconservatism and neo-Luddism). The posing of this middle way frames the discussion as a movement standing between uncritical acceptance and uncritical rejection of emerging technologies. Technoprogressives claim the ground between uncritical stances, though they advocate strongly for the development and use of human enhancement technologies, provided there is universal and uncoerced access to those technologies. Democratic transhumanists emphasize the importance of the development and availability of technologies to expand human capabilities and related transformations. They support
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Moderate Bioconservatism and Moral Enhancement Karim Jebari
    Moderate bioconservatism and moral enhancement Karim Jebari Doktorand i Praktisk Filosofi Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Abstract: Moral enhancement, an instance of human enhancement, consists in the aim to alter a person’s dispositions, emotions or behavior in order to make that person more moral. I will argue that moral enhancement could be carried out in three different ways. The first strategy, favored by prominent defenders of moral enhancement is emotional enhancement. The second strategy, well known from science fiction is behavioral enhancement. I will argue that only the third strategy, enhancement of empathy, is a plausible alternative. This conclusion should be, I argue, welcomed even by those skeptical to human enhancement in general. Keywords: Human enhancement, moral enhancement, bioconservatism, bioethics, medical ethics, neuroethics, virtue, empathy, Introduction In Secular Humanism, a notion that has become widespread, the idea of moral improvement is central. According to the declaration of the Secular Humanist Association’s tenet 5: “Moral Education: We believe that moral development should be cultivated in children and young adults. […] Accordingly, we support moral education in the schools that is designed to develop an appreciation for moral virtues, intelligence, and the building of character.”1 The Holy See also has a positive approach to moral improvement as it pertains to the cultivation of virtues. “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Review of the Ethical and Legal Issues in Human Germline Gene Editing: Considering Human Rights and a Call for an African Perspective
    This open-access article is distributed under ARTICLE Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0. A critical review of the ethical and legal issues in human germline gene editing: Considering human rights and a call for an African perspective B Shozi, LLB, LLM African Health Research Flagship, School of Law, College of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Corresponding author: B Shozi ([email protected]) In the wake of the advent of genome editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR)- associated protein 9), there has been a global debate around the implications of manipulating the human genome. While CRISPR-based germline gene editing is new, the debate about the ethics of gene editing is not – for several decades now, scholars have debated the ethics of making heritable changes to the human genome. The arguments that have been raised both for and against the use of genetic technologies in human reproduction reiterate much of the arguments made in the pre-CRISPR debate. As such, it is instructive for South Africa to reflect on these arguments now, in considering our position on the regulation of the use of this novel biotechnology. There are two dominant schools of thought in this area, bioliberalism and bioconservatism. Bioconservatives raise concerns about the risks of genetic manipulation, and argue that it ought to be limited or prohibited to avert these risks to human health and human nature. Bioliberal scholars are more open to the prospect of genetic manipulation, because of its potential utility. In this article, I conclude that in liberal democracies such as our own, bioliberal arguments ought to be seriously considered when formulating policy on human genome editing because of the extent to which they resonate with our Constitutional values and human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Bioconservatism and Transhumanism: in Search of a Third Way
    Ethics in Progress (ISSN 2084-9257). Vol. 6 (2015). No. 2. 153-163. doi:10.14746/eip.2015.2.9 Between Bioconservatism and transhumanism: In search of a third way Filip Bardziński (Adam Mickiewicz University) Review of the book by R. Cole-Turner (ed.) Transhumanism and Transcendence: Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, pp. 208. Introduction Transhumanism is undoubtedly one of the most important – and most controversial – intellectual movements of the early 21st century. It’s reception of the development of biological and computational sciences, as well as the hopeful perspectives it offers, proves how universally important for all humanity are such topics as individual perfection, cultural development, and relations between progress in science and their social reception and application. However, the transhumanist perspective on how to benefit from new technologies (i.e., life extension, enhancing human capabilities, etc.) remains highly controversial, as far as to be called the modern world’s most dangerous idea by Francis Fukuyama: “The environmental movement has taught us humility and respect for the integrity of nonhuman nature. We need a similar humility concerning our human nature. If we do not develop it soon, we may unwittingly invite the transhumanists to deface humanity with their genetic bulldozers and psychotropic shopping malls” (Fukuyama 2009). Most transhumanists disagree with Fukuyama voice, stating that “the only real danger posed by transhumanism, it seems, is that people on both the left and the right may find it much more attractive than the reactionary bioconservatism proffered by Fukuyama or Leon Kass” (Bostrom 2004).
    [Show full text]
  • The Ethics of Human Enhancement
    Philosophy Compass 10/4 (2015): 233–243, 10.1111/phc3.12208 The Ethics of Human Enhancement Alberto Giubilini1* and Sagar Sanyal2 1Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University 2Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University Of Melbourne Abstract Ethical debate surrounding human enhancement, especially by biotechnological means, has burgeoned since the turn of the century. Issues discussed include whether specific types of enhancement are permis- sible or even obligatory, whether they are likely to produce a net good for individuals and for society, and whether there is something intrinsically wrong in playing God with human nature. We characterize the main camps on the issue, identifying three main positions: permissive, restrictive and conservative posi- tions. We present the major sub-debates and lines of argument from each camp. The review also gives a f lavor of the general approach of key writers in the literature such as Julian Savulescu, Nick Bostrom, Michael Sandel, and Leon Kass. 1. Introduction Human enhancement in contemporary philosophical debate refers to biomedical interventions to improve human capacities, performances, dispositions, and well-being beyond the traditional scope of therapeutic medicine. Some forms of enhancement, such as doping in sport or the pharmaceutical improvement of memory and attention span, are already feasible. Others might be available in the near future, such as genetic engineering to increase cognitive capacities. The ethical issues that arise include whether specific enhancements are permissible, obligatory, or a net good for individuals and for society. Positions in the debate span a continuum between permissive and restrictive views. Authors holding the most permissive positions have no objections to a wide range of enhancements, such as the ones already mentioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Bioconservatism, Bioenhancement and Backfiring
    Journal of Moral Education ISSN: 0305-7240 (Print) 1465-3877 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjme20 Bioconservatism, bioenhancement and backfiring Tamara Kayali Browne & Steve Clarke To cite this article: Tamara Kayali Browne & Steve Clarke (2020) Bioconservatism, bioenhancement and backfiring, Journal of Moral Education, 49:2, 241-256, DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2019.1576125 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2019.1576125 © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 01 Apr 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 1173 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cjme20 JOURNAL OF MORAL EDUCATION 2020, VOL. 49, NO. 2, 241–256 https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2019.1576125 ARTICLE Bioconservatism, bioenhancement and backfiring Tamara Kayali Browne a,b and Steve Clarke b,c aSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia; bSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia; cWellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom ABSTRACT KEYWORDS The prospect of enhancing ourselves through the use of new backfire; bioconservatism; biotechnologies is for the most part, hypothetical. Nevertheless, bioenhancement; Brave New the question of whether we should undertake such enhancement World; conservative; is worthy of discussion as it may become possible in the future. In enhancement; moral education this article, we consider one form of argument that conservative opponents of biotechnological means of enhancement (biocon- servatives) deploy in opposition to the use of enhancement tech- nologies—the backfiring objection.
    [Show full text]
  • A Typology of Posthumanism
    Part One Abstract. The term ‘posthumanism’ has been employed to describe a diverse array of phenomena ranging from academic disciplines and artistic move- ments to political advocacy campaigns and the development of commercial technologies. Such phenomena differ widely in their subject matter, purpose, and methodology, raising the question of whether it is possible to fashion a coherent definition of posthumanism that encompasses all phenomena thus labelled. In this text, we seek to bring greater clarity to this discussion by formulating a novel conceptual framework for classifying existing and poten- tial forms of posthumanism. The framework asserts that a given form of posthumanism can be classified: 1) either as an analytic posthumanism that understands ‘posthumanity’ as a sociotechnological reality that already exists in the contemporary world or as a synthetic posthumanism that understands ‘posthumanity’ as a collection of hypothetical future entities whose develop- ment can be intentionally realized or prevented; and 2) either as a theoretical posthumanism that primarily seeks to develop new knowledge or as a practi- cal posthumanism that seeks to bring about some social, political, economic, or technological change. By arranging these two characteristics as orthogonal axes, we obtain a matrix that categorizes a form of posthumanism into one of four quadrants or as a hybrid posthumanism spanning all quadrants. It is suggested that the five resulting types can be understood roughly as posthu- manisms of critique, imagination, conversion,
    [Show full text]
  • Proposing a Path for Sustainability Curricula: Identifying Core Thinking and Learning Elements for Sustainability Higher Education Timothy F
    James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Fall 2011 Proposing a path for sustainability curricula: Identifying core thinking and learning elements for sustainability higher education Timothy F. Botkin James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Sustainability Commons Recommended Citation Botkin, Timothy F., "Proposing a path for sustainability curricula: Identifying core thinking and learning elements for sustainability higher education" (2011). Masters Theses. 157. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/157 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Proposing a Path for Sustainability Curricula: Identifying Core Thinking and Learning Elements for Sustainability Higher Education Timothy F. Botkin A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY/UNIVERSITY OF MALTA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science - Department of Integrated Science and Technology/Institute of Earth Systems November, 2011 Copyright Notice Copyright in text of this dissertation rests with the Author. Copies (by any process) either in full or of extracts may be made only in accordance with regulations held by the Libraries of the University of Malta and James Madison University. Details may be obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) made in accordance with such instructions may only be made with permission (in writing) of the Author.
    [Show full text]
  • Transhumanism: an Ontology of the World's Most Dangerous Idea
    TRANSHUMANISM: AN ONTOLOGY OF THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS IDEA Benjamin D. Ross Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2019 APPROVED: Robert Frodeman, Major Professor Adam Briggle, Committee Member Steve Fuller, Committee Member Doug Anderson, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion David Holdeman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Ross, Benjamin D. Transhumanism: An Ontology of the World’s Most Dangerous Idea. Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophy), May 2019, 175 pp., reference list, 94 titles. Transhumanism is the name given to the cultural and philosophical movement which advocates radical human technological enhancement. In what follows, I use perspectives drawn from existential philosophy to problematize transhumanists' desire to recast human finitude as a series of technical problems with technical solutions. The ontological account of transhumanism offered here questions the assumed benefit and inevitability across six chapters. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 introduces the key players, and present the philosophy of transhumanism and the opposing view of bioconservativism. Chapter 3 offers a narrative of transhumanism beginning with its mythical antecedents, and proceeds to describe the emergence of contemporary transhumanist institutions. Chapter 4 focuses on the challenge that transhumanists Aubrey de Grey and Ray Kurzweil present to mortality. The chapter asks whether human immortality is a coherent idea, and consider the consequences of achieving a data-driven amortality. Chapter 5 continues the analysis of transhumanism as it challenges limits to knowledge (ignorance), and limits to well-being (suffering). Ray Kurzweil is presented as a key figure of transhumanist thought, along with David Pearce, who desires to eradicate suffering through genetic engineering.
    [Show full text]