Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment?
Abstract Background New technologies facilitate the enhancement of a wide range of human dispositions, capacities, or abilities. While it is argued that we need to set limits to human enhancement, it is unclear where we should find resources to set such limits. Discussion Traditional routes for sett...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2017-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Ethics |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12910-017-0215-8 |
| _version_ | 1818958469359730688 |
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| author | Bjørn Hofmann |
| author_facet | Bjørn Hofmann |
| author_sort | Bjørn Hofmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background New technologies facilitate the enhancement of a wide range of human dispositions, capacities, or abilities. While it is argued that we need to set limits to human enhancement, it is unclear where we should find resources to set such limits. Discussion Traditional routes for setting limits, such as referring to nature, the therapy-enhancement distinction, and the health-disease distinction, turn out to have some shortcomings. However, upon closer scrutiny the concept of enhancement is based on vague conceptions of what is to be enhanced. Explaining why it is better to become older, stronger, and more intelligent presupposes a clear conception of goodness, which is seldom provided. In particular, the qualitative better is frequently confused with the quantitative more. We may therefore not need “external” measures for setting its limits – they are available in the concept of enhancement itself. Summary While there may be shortcomings in traditional sources of limit setting to human enhancement, such as nature, therapy, and disease, such approaches may not be necessary. The specification-of-betterment problem inherent in the conception of human enhancement itself provides means to restrict its unwarranted proliferation. We only need to demand clear, sustainable, obtainable goals for enhancement that are based on evidence, and not on lofty speculations, hypes, analogies, or weak associations. Human enhancements that specify what will become better, and provide adequate evidence, are good and should be pursued. Others should not be accepted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:26:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a927305f7624d3787f4a323ea6d79a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6939 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:26:14Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Ethics |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a927305f7624d3787f4a323ea6d79a62022-12-21T19:42:21ZengBMCBMC Medical Ethics1472-69392017-10-0118111110.1186/s12910-017-0215-8Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment?Bjørn Hofmann0Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)Abstract Background New technologies facilitate the enhancement of a wide range of human dispositions, capacities, or abilities. While it is argued that we need to set limits to human enhancement, it is unclear where we should find resources to set such limits. Discussion Traditional routes for setting limits, such as referring to nature, the therapy-enhancement distinction, and the health-disease distinction, turn out to have some shortcomings. However, upon closer scrutiny the concept of enhancement is based on vague conceptions of what is to be enhanced. Explaining why it is better to become older, stronger, and more intelligent presupposes a clear conception of goodness, which is seldom provided. In particular, the qualitative better is frequently confused with the quantitative more. We may therefore not need “external” measures for setting its limits – they are available in the concept of enhancement itself. Summary While there may be shortcomings in traditional sources of limit setting to human enhancement, such as nature, therapy, and disease, such approaches may not be necessary. The specification-of-betterment problem inherent in the conception of human enhancement itself provides means to restrict its unwarranted proliferation. We only need to demand clear, sustainable, obtainable goals for enhancement that are based on evidence, and not on lofty speculations, hypes, analogies, or weak associations. Human enhancements that specify what will become better, and provide adequate evidence, are good and should be pursued. Others should not be accepted.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12910-017-0215-8EnhancementDiseaseTherapyNaturalnessNatureLimits |
| spellingShingle | Bjørn Hofmann Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? BMC Medical Ethics Enhancement Disease Therapy Naturalness Nature Limits |
| title | Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? |
| title_full | Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? |
| title_fullStr | Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? |
| title_short | Limits to human enhancement: nature, disease, therapy or betterment? |
| title_sort | limits to human enhancement nature disease therapy or betterment |
| topic | Enhancement Disease Therapy Naturalness Nature Limits |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12910-017-0215-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bjørnhofmann limitstohumanenhancementnaturediseasetherapyorbetterment |