The Posthuman Condition

Om bogen

If biotechnology can be used to "upgrade" humans physically and mentally, should it be used at all? And, if so, to what extent?  How will biotechnology affect societal cohesion? Can the development be controlled, or is this a Pandora's box that should remain closed?

These are but a few of the perplex questions facing scientists as a result of the increasing ability of technology to change biology and, in turn, profoundly change human living conditions. This development has created a new posthuman horizon that will influence contemporary life and politics in a number of ways.

The Posthuman Condition addresses the challenges of:

• Imagining a society where the properties of humans have shifted radically
• Assessing the scope of deploying technologies that are already underway
• Basing decisions on an ethical foundation that does not entail a concept of human nature
• Ascertaining the types of political action that can and should be taken in the face of this situation

The anthology brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines: biotechnology, medicine, ethics, politics, and aesthetics, and among contributors are Francis Fukuyama, Julian Savulescu, Maxwell Mehlman, John Harris and Chris Hables Gray. 

Indholdsfortegnelse

Part I - Technological Scenarios

Cyborging the Posthuman: Participatory Evolution

How Close Are We to Being Able to Achieve the Transhumanist Vision?

Genetics - It Just Got Personal

The Medicine of the Future - Live Long and Prosper?

Part II - Ethical Dilemmas

Post-What? (And Why Does it Matter?)

Treating Symptoms Rather Than Causes? On "Enhancement" and Social Oppression

A Liberal View on Liberal Enhancement

Part III - Artistic Responses

Three Ways of Change: The New Human in Literature

Artistic Consequenses of Technology Insinuating Itself into the Human Body

Dehumanizing Danto and Fukuyama: Towards a Post-Hegelian Role for Art in Evolution

Part IV - Political Possibilities

Agency or Inevitabllity: Will Human Beings Control Their Technological Future?

Biological Egalitarianism: A Defense

Enhancing Equality

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Læseprøve

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