Comment on this entry
Moral Questions in the Ancient Art of Human Enhancement
Since I’ve just been named an Affiliate Scholar here at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, I thought I’d think about where I fit within the Humanist/Transhumanist matrix.
...
Complete entry
COMMENTS
Posted by clive holloway on 07/26 at 05:11 PM
I don't think you understand Venn diagrams. Things that are both good and bad are not inevitable.
Similarly for second diagram.
Posted by knscott on 07/26 at 08:35 PM
Thank you for the old ad for the Flesh brush. I will have to go look in to that more.
I'd like to add that if we look at the history of mass communication, technological enhancements in regards to communication go farther back than radio. When we discovered how to take our thoughts and use writing tools to transfer and show them, not just with those next to us, but across lands was a great enhancement. We have building better ways ever since.
As Kanye would say, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". Humans will continue to look for capabilities to enhance themselves, labeled or not.
Posted by Jcarr on 07/27 at 10:50 AM
Kudos for resituating the debate platform, the effort towards communication is much needed.
However, it seems but an olive branch, this short article just creates a system (via venn diagrams) that finds a way that you and Dale might agree (though I can't speak for him). In short you've not really argued much except some sort of non-commital defense of a transhumanist platform without really being transhumanist. But, this is good because now we can recognize that the issue doesn't have anything to do with (trans)humanist or anti-(trans)humanist labels but the technology at hand used to progress certain (profitable?) values which many may agree on (egalitarian may be too broad or too narrrow a category in the future).
That being said, I have a problem with cell phones for a variety of reasons, the main two are as follows:
1)Reliancy and Ritual - Ever had phantom cell phone ring in your pocket? The ritual of rifling through ones things for the cell phone has become a sort of coping mechanism that doesn't help actual physical communication. So we sacrafice short-range at the cost of enhanced long-ranged communication.
2) Absence - We are no longer in the physical presence of one another. Even when I am in front of you "hanging-out" with you, if I am on the cell phone I might as well not be there. This may not seem like a big deal, but I fear it is a larger probelm than we realize. This ability to be absent while standing in the physical presence of one another further augments an inherently ignorant ideology. The cell phone maintains distance instead of promoting proximity, allowing me to ignore those around me. This type of attitude is what reinforces ambivance towards humans and environment alike (whatever is nearest becomes of no concern, and what is far I can reach by telephone without having to truly encounter the other). The cell phone is the figure par excellance of absence, and therefore, in my opinion belongs on the right side of your venn diagrams along with Bad and Elitist. Just because it has become a 'necessity' or because everyone has one (I do not) doesn't make it any less elitist or bad.
Now this doesnt necesarily nullify the intention (au contraire) or argument of your thesis, it just indicates that the diagram needs to be extended and revised over and over again, in short we need to get to the root of those valuations, norms and mores that we hold dear and not allow technology to trample across them for the sake of speed or convenience.
Posted by mike3 on 07/28 at 09:15 PM
Some of it is inevitable, as long as we continue to develop more medical technologies. If you can regrow a heart, why can't you grow a bigger one that can pump more blood? Thus I think the thing we need to do is to revolutionize our social systems. This would likely involve conquering the wealth-poverty gap. We need to close that gap and eliminate those extremes of wealth & poverty for a bajillion different reasons of which this is just one.
Posted by Frank on 07/29 at 09:41 PM
> " Life expectancy increased from 18 years in the Bronze Age "
According to the, eh, never-wrong Wiki,
the life expectancy during the Bronze Age and Iron Age was 35+
Posted by Carl on 07/31 at 09:47 PM
All technology can be used as either good or evil. It is up to us humans to do good and prevent evil. Human enhancement is the use of technology for good and learning how to avoid evil. Withholding technology, such as fire, guns, and medical procedures, from those persons who need it to survive is evil, yet we can use technology for evil purposes, for instance fire, guns, and medical procedures. We learn from the past and project into the future that is how we make technology. Enhancement is the human endeavor to always use technology for good, but not to avoid making technology just because we cannot think of "good" at the time of development.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Add your comment here:
|
IEET Blog