MASTER THESIS Postphenomenology in the Military Context: A Way Forward in the Human Enhancement Debate C. J. Fries A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences of the University of Twente in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science MSc Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society - PSTS First supervisor/examiner: Patrick T. Smith Second reader/examiner: Dr. Kevin N.J. Macnish 19-06-2019 Enschede, The Netherlands 2 3 Abstract The debate on human enhancement between the bioconservatists and the transhumanists is in a stalemate. It is currently stuck on the question of whether the human being remains human after enhancements. Postphenomenology provides a way to take the discussion forward. In order to do this, this thesis discusses military human enhancement technologies and analyzes them from the perspectives of the two debating parties, the bioconservatives, and the transhumanists. The phenomenological point of view is used to gain new insight into the overall debate on human enhancement technologies. The main question of this thesis is: How can postphenomenology, in a military context, provide a way forward in the human enhancement debate? In order to support this question, the thesis first introduces the current military human enhancement technologies in development and why they are relevant to the military. Furthermore, the questions why the military enhances its soldiers, and what the effects are of these enhancements, are discussed in Section 2. The arguments of the two main philosophical parties in the human enhancement debate, the bioconservatives, and the transhumanists are explained and brought in a debate with each other. Discussing why these two parties are in a stalemate as it is based mostly on the metaphysical question of what defines the human being, and whether or not the human remains human when they enhance themselves. Postphenomenology provides a way forward in this discussion. By stating that postphenomenology dissolves the metaphysical debate surrounding human enhancement, as the human being can already be considered a cyborg, as well as, that the human is something that is continuously in development. Thus, there is no status quo for either the bioconservatives to conserve or for the transhumanists to transcend from. Dissolving the metaphysical debate opens up the way to focus solely on the practical issues that human enhancement technologies bring with them. The military context, and especially the example of the soldier, make for a more explicit and more convincing argument of seeing the human being as a cyborg. In the military, there is an abundance of use of human enhancement technology, which makes the military context an exciting place to analyze human enhancement technologies, as well as applying postphenomenology in order to understand the effects of human enhancements. The analysis of these human enhancement technologies can then be used as a benchmark when discussing human enhancement technologies entering the civilian context. 4 Table of Contents Section 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6 1.1. Thesis statement .................................................................................................................... 6 1.2. Definitions of key terms ...................................................................................................... 10 Section 2: War & technology .............................................................................................. 13 2.1. State of the art of enhancing soldiers ................................................................................. 13 2.1.1. External (bio)technical enhancements ....................................................................................... 14 2.1.2. Internal biotechnical enhancements........................................................................................... 15 2.2. Why the military enhances its soldiers ............................................................................... 18 2.3. How technology affects the individual soldier .................................................................... 20 2.4. The soldier as a cyborg ....................................................................................................... 22 Section 3: The soldier and bioconservatism ........................................................................ 24 3.1. Bioconservatism .................................................................................................................. 24 3.2. The soldier as a human ....................................................................................................... 28 3.2.1. External (bio)technical enhancements ....................................................................................... 28 3.2.2. Internal biotechnical enhancements........................................................................................... 29 3.3. Bioconservatism on the soldier as a cyborg ........................................................................ 31 Section 4: The soldier and transhumanism ........................................................................ 35 4.1. Transhumanism .................................................................................................................. 35 4.2. The soldier as transhuman.................................................................................................. 38 4.2.1. External (bio)technical enhancements ....................................................................................... 39 4.2.2. Internal biotechnical enhancements........................................................................................... 39 4.3. Transhumanism on the soldier as a cyborg ........................................................................ 42 Section 5: The soldier and postphenomenology .................................................................. 46 5.1. Postphenomenology ............................................................................................................ 46 5.2. The soldier as posthuman ................................................................................................... 51 5.2.1. External (bio)technical enhancements ....................................................................................... 51 5.2.2. Internal biotechnical enhancements........................................................................................... 52 5.3. Postphenomenology on the soldier as a cyborg .................................................................. 54 Section 6: Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 58 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 64 5 Section 1: Introduction 1.1. Thesis statement Militaries of all nations are always working to give their soldiers an edge over their enemy by enhancing them. These enhancements have taken many shapes over the ages; giving soldiers extensive training, new strategies, tactics, weapons, vehicles, or other kinds of technologies. The soldier has evolved to improve his capabilities to overcome the enemy, which not only makes the relation between technology and warfare evident throughout history, but it is also evidence of the way that combat is performed (Black, 2013; Roland, 2016). This history makes it safe to say that technology and the military are thoroughly intertwined, meaning that technology has always been a part of warfare. The military’s search for the ultimate soldier is a continuous process. Note that the term technology is meant in the broadest sense of the word, as it not only addresses the things mentioned above like equipment and vehicles, but also drugs like cognitive enhancers and medical techniques and practices are an essential part of this process (Blackmore, 2011; Black, 2013; Kamieński, 2017). The development of technologies has changed the relationship between technology and the soldier over time. The soldier is being enhanced through all kinds of technical developments to keep up with the developments in warfare. An example of this is the use of flight suits for fighter pilots. The human body is not made to function at high altitudes. Thus, the development of flight suits that keep the pilot warm and conscious, combined with oxygen masks that provide the pilot with breathable air are technologies that allow the pilot to operate on high altitude flights, and during high G-force maneuvers. However, this goes even further as the military provides pilots and soldiers with cognitive enhancers in order to keep them awake during long missions (Kamieński, 2017). As Naval Officer, Dr. Charles Stevenson states: “With military technology reaching a new level of development, traditional logic had been reversed: it was no longer the tools of war that had to be adjusted to man, but man had to be fitted to these increasingly advanced, faster, and more powerful machines” (Kamieński, 2017, p. 155). It is the development of ever newer technologies that soldier is in a situation where the soldier enhances himself in order to keep up, both in order for the soldier to be able to use new technologies, as well as that these technologies grant the soldier new capabilities. This 6 development creates an environment for the soldier