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HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Scientific Ethical Anda Policytheological PERSPECTIVE Aspects from for Thea European EUROPEAN Perspective UNION 1 Published by the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches, edited by Theo Boer and Richard Fischer ISBN: 2-88070-132-5 Church and Society Commission of CEC 8 rue Fossé-des-Treize 67000 Strasbourg France Tel.: +33 3 88 15 27 60 Fax: +33 3 88 15 27 61 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://csc.ceceurope.org FINAL-Cover-book-2013double.indd 2 28/05/13 10:28 HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Scientific Ethical andA POLICYTheological PERSPECTIVE Aspects from FOR THEa European EUROPEAN Perspective UNION 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Rüdiger Noll and Richard Fischer .....................................................................................................................................................................4 INSTITUTIONS 1. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT: A POLICY PERSPECTIVE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION Ruud ter Meulen ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................9 2. TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL REGULATION OF NEUROENHANCEMENT IS THERE A ROLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS? Doris Wolfslehner ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................25 SCIENCE AND MEDICINE 3. I DON’T WANT COMFORT, I WANT GOD, I WANT POETRY, I WANT REAL DANGER Theo Boer and Cees Dekker ..................................................................................................................................................................................33 4. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Christopher Coenen ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................57 5. STAYING HUMAN IN THE 21ST CENTURY THINKING BEYOND HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES INSIDE THE BODY Rinie van Est and Mirjam Schuijff .................................................................................................................................................................81 6. DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION AND ENHANCEMENT Henriette Krug ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................97 7. THE HUMAN BODY AS CULTURAL PLAYGROUND WITH EMPHASIS ON THE FEMALE BODY Marianne Springer-Kremser ..............................................................................................................................................................................109 ETHICS AND THEOLOGY 8. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT FROM THE ORTHODOX POINT OF VIEW Stavros Baloyannis .............................................................................................................................................................................................................119 9. AN ISLAMIC VIEWPOINT ON THE ‘PERFECTIBILITY’ OF THE HUMAN BEING Omar van den Broeck ..................................................................................................................................................................................................129 CEC-BOOK-MAY-CORR3.indd 1 28/05/13 10:11 2 HUMAN ENHANCEMENT A POLICY PERSPECTIVE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION 10. REFLECTIONS ON TEN YEARS OF HUMAN ENHANCEMENT DEBATE Donald Bruce ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................133 11. CONTEXTUALISING ENHANCEMENT: RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL ASPECTS FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE Peter Dabrock ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................155 12. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE? Emmanuel of France ......................................................................................................................................................................................................171 13. SCIENCE, VALUES AND JUDAISM Albert Guigui ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................177 14. DRAWING THE LINE AND EXPRESSING THE DILEMMA IN CORRECTIVE OR PLASTIC SURGERY Anestis Keselopoulos ....................................................................................................................................................................................................183 15. ETHICAL ASSESSMENTS AND IMPLICIT IMAGES OF HUMANHOOD FROM A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Ulrich Körtner .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................193 16. PROTESTANT PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Brendan McCarthy.............................................................................................................................................................................................................217 17. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT AND SCIENCE: THE IDEA OF PROGRESS RE-VISITED Janne Nikkinen ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................223 18. ON THE PROSPECTS FOR HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Maria Pilar Nuñez Cubero (COMECE) .................................................................................................................................................235 19. RETURN TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN (ESSAY ON POSTMODERNISTIC THEOLOGY) David Perović ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................245 20. BETWEEN MERE OPPOSITION AND DULL ALLEGIANCE ENHANCEMENT IN THEOLOGICAL ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE Stefanie Schardien .............................................................................................................................................................................................................249 21. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT AND THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Ulla Schmidt .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................261 CEC-BOOK-MAY-CORR3.indd 2 28/05/13 10:11 HUMAN ENHANCEMENT Scientific Ethical andA POLICYTheological PERSPECTIVE Aspects from FOR THEa European EUROPEAN Perspective UNION 3 22. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT BETWEEN THEOSIS AND KOINONIA AN ORTHODOX PERSPECTIVE Stefan Stratul and Constantin Jinga ....................................................................................................................................................273 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS 23. REFLECTIONS ON ENHANCEMENT AND ENCHANTMENT A CONCLUDING ESSAY Theo Boer..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................283 BIOGRAPHIES OF THE CONTRIBUTORS ...................................................................................................................................................293 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................298 CEC-BOOK-MAY-CORR3.indd 3 28/05/13 10:11 4 HUMAN ENHANCEMENT PREFACE PREFACE Churches Engaging in the Controversial Debate on Human Enhancement For ages, humans have developed cures for diseases and devised techniques which make the hardships of life more endurable. All these were believed to make human life more humane, i.e. to help humans to live out their inherent (natural, God-given) potentiality to a fuller extent. Recent technology, known as human enhancement, challenges this 'natu- ral' normativity: going beyond restoring wellbeing and optimizing human potentiality, enhancement also develops capacities which can, in a sense, be called new. Chemicals have become available that increase physical performance in, for example the field of sports. Other chemicals enhance psychological endurance, mood, and cognition. Work is in progress on developing functional implants within the body, such as computer chips integrated in the brain, with the aim of enhancing performance beyond what humans are naturally capable of. Changes are being made to body cells and systems, and techniques are being discussed to change human genes. Finally, techniques are being developed, and in part already applied, which extend the human life-span. Human Enhancement is about trying to make changes to minds and bodies – to characteristics, abilities, emotions and capacities – beyond what we currently regard as normal. The
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