Better than Human: The Promise and Perils of Enhancing Ourselves
Is it right to use biomedical technologies
to make us better than well or even perhaps better than human? Should we view
our biology as fixed or should we try to improve on it? College students are
already taking cognitive enhancement drugs. The U.S. army is already working to
develop drugs and technologies to produce "super soldiers." Scientists already
know how to use genetic engineering techniques to enhance the strength and
memories of mice and the application of such technologies to humans is on the
horizon. In Better Than Human, philosopher-bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples
with the ethical dilemmas of the biomedical enhancement revolution. Biomedical
enhancements can make us smarter, have better memories, be stronger, quicker,
have more stamina, live much longer, avoid the frailties of aging, and enjoy
richer emotional lives. In spite of the benefits that biomedical enhancements
may bring, many people instinctively reject them. Some worry that we will lose
something important-our appreciation for what we have or what makes human beings
distinctively valuable. Others assume that biomedical enhancements will only be
available to the rich, with the result that social inequalities will worsen.
Buchanan shows that the debate over enhancement has been distorted by false
assumptions and misleading rhetoric. To think clearly about enhancement, we have
to acknowledge that human nature is a mixed bag and that our species has many
"design flaws." We should be open be open to the possibility of becoming better
than human, while never underestimating the risks that our attempts to improve
may back-fire.
