Ethics Finder

Human Enhancement

Human beings have long sought to acquire additional powers or to develop those they have already, or to diminish or eliminate what they regarded as defects. They have pursued this desire through mental and physical training, and through selective breeding – from informal choosing of mates who have the desired hereditary characteristics, to social policies of restricted reproduction (eugenics). Until relatively recently, however, these means were rather limited and often unsuccessful. With the development and spread of medical technology, artificial intelligence, IT, robotics and applied genetics, however, the ambition and possibilities of human enhancement have increased. Advocates argue that just as we have used medicine, exercise and diet to improve human health, so we should use these new techniques to elevate human nature. Critics counter that this a) risks unforeseen harmful consequences, b) deepens existing or creates new social inequalities, and c) represents a kind of existential dissatisfaction that can never be eased but will only be intensified.

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