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Lantian A, Rose M. No evidence that belief in conspiracy theories is negatively related to attitudes toward transhumanism. Scand J Psychol 2024. [PMID: 38282567 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.13003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Transhumanism is a movement that emphasizes the improvement of the human condition by developing technologies and making them widely available. Conspiracy theories regularly refer to the allegedly transhumanist agenda of elites. We hypothesized that belief in conspiracy theories would be related to more unfavorable attitudes toward the transhumanist movement. We examined this association through two pre-registered studies (based on two French samples, total N after exclusion = 550). We found no evidence of a negative relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and attitudes toward transhumanism. This null result was further corroborated by Bayesian analysis, an equivalence test, and an internal mini meta-analysis. This work plays a precursory role in understanding attitudes toward an international cultural and intellectual movement that continues to grow in popularity and influence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Lantian
- Département de Psychologie, Laboratoire Parisien de Psychologie Sociale, UPL, Univ Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| | - Michael Rose
- Département de Psychologie, Laboratoire Parisien de Psychologie Sociale, UPL, Univ Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
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2
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Dillard-Wright J, Smith JB, Hopkins-Walsh J, Willis E, Brown BB, Tedjasukmana EC. Notes on [post]human nursing: What It MIGHT Be, What it is Not. Nurs Inq 2024; 31:e12562. [PMID: 37211658 DOI: 10.1111/nin.12562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
With this paper, we walk out some central ideas about posthumanisms and the ways in which nursing is already deeply entangled with them. At the same time, we point to ways in which nursing might benefit from further entanglement with other ideas emerging from posthumanisms. We first offer up a brief history of posthumanisms, following multiple roots to several points of formation. We then turn to key flavors of posthuman thought to differentiate between them and clarify our collective understanding and use of the terms. This includes considerations of the threads of transhumanism, critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism, and the speculative, affirmative ethics that arise from critical posthumanism and feminist new materialism. These ideas are fruitful for nursing, and already in action in many cases, which is the matter we occupy ourselves with in the final third of the paper. We consider the ways nursing is already posthuman-sometimes even critically so-and the speculative worldbuilding of nursing as praxis. We conclude with visions for a critical posthumanist nursing that attends to humans and other/more/nonhumans, situated and material and embodied and connected, in relation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jess Dillard-Wright
- Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Jane Hopkins-Walsh
- Boston Children's Hospital Primary Care Center and Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Eva Willis
- Sociology of Health and Healthcare Systems, Siegen, Germany
| | - Brandon B Brown
- College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
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3
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Bignami E, Panizzi M, Bellini V. Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Perioperative Medicine. Cureus 2024; 16:e53270. [PMID: 38435870 PMCID: PMC10905205 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.53270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is disruptive and unstoppable, also in medicine. Because of the enormous quantity of data recorded during continuous monitoring and the peculiarity of our specialty where stratification and mitigation risk are some of the core aspects, anesthesiology and postoperative intensive care are fertile fields where new technologies find ample room for expansion. Recently, research efforts have focused on the development of a holistic technology that globally embraces the entire perioperative period rather than a fragmented approach where AI is developed to carry out specific tasks. This could potentially revolutionize the perioperative medicine we know today. In fact, AI will be able to expand clinician's ability to interpret, adapt, and ultimately act in a complex reality with facets that are too complex to be managed all at the same time and in a holistic manner. With the support of new tools, as healthcare professionals we have the moral obligation to govern this transition, allowing an ethical and sustainable development of these technologies and avoiding being overwhelmed by them. We should welcome this transhumanist tension which does not aim at the replacement of human capabilities or even at the integration of these but rather at the expansion of a "single intelligence".
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Bignami
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Division, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Parma, Parma, ITA
| | - Matteo Panizzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Division, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Parma, Parma, ITA
| | - Valentina Bellini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Division, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Parma, Parma, ITA
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Aliyeva A. Transhumanism: Integrating Cochlear Implants With Artificial Intelligence and the Brain-Machine Interface. Cureus 2023; 15:e50378. [PMID: 38213340 PMCID: PMC10782474 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.50378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The integration of cochlear implants (CI) with brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) and artificial intelligence (AI) within the framework of transhumanism is revolutionary and this editorial highlights how this synergy can transcend human sensory experiences and auditory rehabilitation. The potential of this amalgamation extends beyond restoring auditory function to enhancing human capabilities, marking a transformative step towards a future where technology harmoniously extends human faculties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aynur Aliyeva
- Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St.Mary Hospital, Seoul, KOR
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5
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Levin SB. A world of difference: The fundamental opposition between transhumanist "welfarism" and disability advocacy. Bioethics 2023; 37:779-789. [PMID: 37453081 DOI: 10.1111/bioe.13201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
From the standpoint of disability advocacy, further exploration of the concept of well-being stands to be availing. The notion that "welfarism" about disability, which Julian Savulescu and Guy Kahane debuted, qualifies as helpful is encouraged by their claim that welfarism shares important commitments with that advocacy. As becomes clear when they apply their welfarist frame to procreative decisions, endorsing welfarism would, in fact, sharply undermine it. Savulescu and Kahane's Principle of Procreative Beneficence-which reflects transhumanism, or advocacy of radical bioenhancement-morally requires parents to choose the child who will, in all probability, have "the best life." Assuming the emergence of potent biotechnologies, procreative decision-making would be highly standardized, for prospective parents would be morally obliged to maximize select capacities, including intelligence, self-control, and hedonic set-point, in their children. Welfarism, applied to reproduction, is staunchly objectivist about what course is incumbent on decision-makers, giving no credence to first-personal values, aspirations, and experiences. Though this dismissal of individual perspectives applies to everyone, its implications for disability advocacy are especially severe. With that advocacy in view, greater attention to "well-being" should, therefore, be severed from the welfarism of Savulescu and Kahane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan B Levin
- Department of Philosophy, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
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6
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Carrillo-Ruiz JD, Carrillo-Márquez JR, Beltrán JQ, Jiménez-Ponce F, García-Muñoz L, Navarro-Olvera JL, Márquez-Franco R, Velasco F. Innovative perspectives in limbic surgery using deep brain stimulation. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1167244. [PMID: 37274213 PMCID: PMC10233042 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1167244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Limbic surgery is one of the most attractive and retaken fields of functional neurosurgery in the last two decades. Psychiatric surgery emerged from the incipient work of Moniz and Lima lesioning the prefrontal cortex in agitated patients. Since the onset of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery with Spiegel and Wycis, the treatment of mental diseases gave attention to refractory illnesses mainly with the use of thalamotomies. Neurosis and some psychotic symptoms were treated by them. Several indications when lesioning the brain were included: obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and aggressiveness among others with a diversity of targets. The indiscriminately use of anatomical sites without enough scientific evidence, and uncertainly defined criteria for selecting patients merged with a deficiency in ethical aspects, brought a lack of procedures for a long time: only select clinics allowed this surgery around the world from 1950 to the 1990s. In 1999, Nuttin et al. began a new chapter in limbic surgery with the use of Deep Brain Stimulation, based on the experience of pain, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. The efforts were focused on different targets to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Nevertheless, other diseases were added to use neuromodulation. The goal of this article is to show the new opportunities to treat neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Damián Carrillo-Ruiz
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
- Research Direction, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
- Neuroscience Coordination, Psychology Faculty, Anahuac University, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - José Rodrigo Carrillo-Márquez
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Anahuac University, Mexico City, Mexico
- Alpha Health Sciences Leadership Program, Anahuac University, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jesús Quetzalcóatl Beltrán
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Fiacro Jiménez-Ponce
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Luis García-Muñoz
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - José Luis Navarro-Olvera
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - René Márquez-Franco
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Francisco Velasco
- Stereotactic, Functional & Radiosurgery Unit of Neurosurgery Service, Mexico General Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico
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Malanowski S, Baima NR. Human Nature and Aspiring the Divine: On Antiquity and Transhumanism. J Med Philos 2022; 47:653-666. [PMID: 37314103 DOI: 10.1093/jmp/jhac023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Many transhumanists see their respective movement as being rooted in ancient ethical thought. However, this alleged connection between the contemporary transhumanist doctrine and the ethical theory of antiquity has come under attack. In this paper, we defend this connection by pointing out a key similarity between the two intellectual traditions. Both traditions are committed to the "radical transformation thesis": ancient ethical theory holds that we should assimilate ourselves to the gods as far as possible, and transhumanists hold that we should enhance ourselves beyond the physical and intellectual parameters of being human so as to become posthuman. By considering the two views in tandem, we develop an account of the assimilation directive that is palatable to contemporary readers and provide a view of posthumanism worth wanting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Malanowski
- Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA
| | - Nicholas R Baima
- Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FloridaUSA
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Colgrove N, McAllister D, Rea B. Moral enhancement, acquired virtue, and theism: A response to Brummett and Crutchfield. Bioethics 2022; 36:891-898. [PMID: 35909319 DOI: 10.1111/bioe.13073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Recently, Brummett and Crutchfield advanced two critiques of theists who object to moral enhancement. First, a conceptual critique: theists who oppose moral enhancement commonly do so because virtue is thought to be acquired only via a special kind of process. Enhancement does not involve such processes. Hence, enhancement cannot produce virtue. Yet theists also commonly claim that God is perfectly virtuous and not subject to processes. If virtue requires a process and God is perfectly virtuous without a process, however, then theists contradict themselves. Second, a moral critique: theists who reject moral enhancement are selfish, because accepting moral enhancement would (allegedly) reduce widespread suffering. Theists often condemn selfishness, however. By condemning selfishness and (simultaneously) rejecting enhancement, therefore, theists contradict themselves yet again. We argue that both critiques fail. Both substantially misrepresent their target. First, Brummett and Crutchfield confuse metaphysical enhancement (attempts to alter human nature) with moral enhancement (attempts to become better human beings). Authors that Brummett and Crutchfield cite object to the former, not the latter. Second, both conceptual and moral critiques overlook the many resources within theistic traditions that can quickly resolve relevant (alleged) contradictions. The conceptual critique, for example, misrepresents both common views held among theists (regarding God's virtue) and the ways in which virtue may be acquired. Similarly, the moral critique mischaracterizes the relationship commonly posited by theists between enhancement and agency. By attending to what theists actually claim-rather than relying on caricatures-it becomes clear that each of Brummett and Crutchfield's critiques fail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Colgrove
- Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | | | - Burke Rea
- Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania
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9
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Rueda J. Genetic enhancement, human extinction, and the best interests of posthumanity. Bioethics 2022. [PMID: 36134439 DOI: 10.1111/bioe.13085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The cumulative impact of enhancement technologies may alter the human species in the very long-term future. In this article, I will start showing how radical genetic enhancements may accelerate the conversion into a novel species. I will also clarify the concepts of 'biological species', 'transhuman' and 'posthuman'. Then, I will summarize some ethical arguments for creating a transhuman or posthuman species with a substantially higher level of well-being than the human one. In particular, I will present what I shall call the Principle of the Best Interests of Posthumanity, which states that the enhancement of the human and transhuman species must be directed towards the creation of a posthuman existence that is substantially more valuable than its predecessors. I suggest that human extinction may be considered, within that principle, as one of the best interests of posthumanity. Finally, I will develop three objections that make that principle unattractive and that show that pursuing a full-blown programme of posthuman evolution is ethically flawed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Rueda
- Department of Philosophy 1, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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10
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Chaproniere L. Is enhancement inherently ableist? Bioethics 2022; 36:356-366. [PMID: 34921728 DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Transhumanists and other proponents of enhancement have been criticized for their attitude to disability. Melinda Hall argues that transhumanists denigrate disabled people by devaluing interdependence and vulnerability, and implying that disabled people are dangerous. It might also be thought that further development of enhancement technologies would have bad consequences within current, ableist and otherwise oppressive social contexts. This paper responds to these objections, arguing that enhancement needn't be in conflict with disability justice. While enhancements can be used and promoted in ways that reinforce ableism and other oppression, ways of mitigating these problems might be found by drawing on ideas from the disability rights movement, and social justice movements more broadly. The development of more accessible environments, and a general openness to surprises about which traits promote well-being, can help to create conditions under which people have genuine choice over which enhancement technologies, if any, to use.
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Iltis A. (Re)-Emerging Challenges in Christian Bioethics: Leading Voices in Christian Bioethics. Christ Bioeth 2022; 28:1-10. [PMID: 35992505 PMCID: PMC9383548 DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbab017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This is the third installment in a Christian Bioethics series that gathers leading voices in Christian bioethics to examine the themes and issues they find most pressing. The papers address fundamental theoretical questions about the nature of Christian bioethics itself, long-standing ethical issues that remain significant today, including physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, the definition of death, the allocation of scarce resources, and finally, more futuristic questions regarding transhumanism. The contributions underscore the enduring significance of Christian engagement in bioethics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Iltis
- Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina,USA
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Stefański D, Jach Ł. What do people think about technological enhancements of human beings? An introductory study using the Technological Enhancements Questionnaire in the context of values, the scientistic worldview, and the accepted versions of humanism. Curr Issues Personal Psychol 2021; 10:71-84. [PMID: 38013752 PMCID: PMC10653345 DOI: 10.5114/cipp.2021.110061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rapid development of technologies increases the possibility of technological enhancements of human beings, e.g., in their cognitive skills or physical fitness. Attitudes towards such enhancements may result in their social acceptance or rejection. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE One hundred and thirty-nine young Polish adults participated in the study. Participants completed the designed Technological Enhancements Questionnaire (TEQ) and questionnaires to measure values, the scientistic worldview, and the accepted versions of humanism. RESULTS The study showed a one-dimensional TEQ structure and its satisfactory reliability. Attitudes towards technological enhancements correlated positively with achievement, self-direction in thought, power over resources, the scientistic worldview, and the evolutionary version of humanism. They also correlated negatively with tradition and the liberal version of humanism. CONCLUSIONS The TEQ questionnaire is a short, reliable tool to measure attitudes towards technological enhancements. This preliminary study provided some significant results, but future work to validate the questionnaire is needed.
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Ewuoso C, Fayemi AK. Transhumanism and African humanism: How to pursue the transhumanist vision without jeopardizing humanity. Bioethics 2021; 35:634-645. [PMID: 34169550 DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
African humanism should be considered more in the theoretical discussion on transhumanism. Using an underexplored humanistic philosophy of Ubuntu, this article shows how the perspective from the global south provides guidelines for pursuing transhumanism without jeopardizing humanism. It argues that heuristics from African (Ubuntu) humanism can serve transhumanist goals. While transhumanism has attracted severe criticisms from bio-conservatives, this article counterargues some salient objections. Drawing on an Ubuntu understanding of humanism, this article posits that the transhumanist vision of the posthuman does not threaten our humanity. Ubuntu humanism is shown to be supportive of transhumanism and can plausibly serve as a guide to protecting transhumanist trajectories from potential abuses. This article concludes that the embedded values of African humanism deserve to be taken seriously in galvanizing global trust in transhuman futures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelius Ewuoso
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Western Cape, South Africa
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Inglese S, Lavazza A. What Should We Do With People Who Cannot or Do Not Want to Be Protected From Neurotechnological Threats? Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:703092. [PMID: 34421562 PMCID: PMC8371680 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.703092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurotechnologies can pose a threat to people's privacy and mental integrity. Hence the proposal of establishing neurorights (Ienca and Andorno, 2017) and technical principles for the implementation of these rights (Lavazza, 2018). However, concepts such as "the extended mind" and what might be called "the post-human objection" can be said to challenge this protection paradigm. On the one hand, it may be difficult to outline the cognitive boundaries between humans and machines (with the consequent ethical and legal implications). On the other hand, those who wish to make strong use of neurotechnologies, or even hybridize with them, reject the idea that privacy and mental integrity should be protected. However, from the latter view, issues may arise relating to the protection of persons entering into relationships with posthumanist people. This article will discuss these scenarios as well as the ethical, legal, social, and political issues that could follow from them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Inglese
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Lavazza
- Department of Neuroethics, Centro Universitario Internazionale, Arezzo, Italy
- University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Schmitz S. TechnoBrainBodies-in-Cultures: An Intersectional Case. Front Sociol 2021; 6:651486. [PMID: 33987221 PMCID: PMC8112819 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.651486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The cyborgization of brainbodies with computer hardware and software today ranges in scope from the realization of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to visions of mind upload to silicon, the latter being targeted toward a transhuman future. Refining posthumanist concepts to formulate a posthumanities perspective, and contrasting those approaches with transhumanist trajectories, I explore the intersectional dimension of realizations and visions of neuro-technological developments, which I name TechnoBrainBodies-in-Cultures. In an intersectional analysis, I investigate the embedding and legitimation of transhumanist visions brought about by neuroscientific research and neuro-technological development based on a concept of modern neurobiological determinism. The conjoined trajectories of BCI research and development and transhumanist visions perpetuate the inscription of intersectional norms, with the concomitant danger of producing discriminatory effects. This culminates in normative capacity being seen as a conflation of the abled, successful, white masculinized techno-brain with competition. My deeper analysis, however, also enables displacements within recent BCI research and development to be characterized: from ''thought-translation" to affective conditioning and from controllability to obstinacy within the BCI, going so far as to open the closed loop. These realizations challenge notions about the BCI's actor status and agency and foster questions about shifts in the corresponding subject-object relations. Based on these analyses, I look at the effects of neuro-technological and transhumanist governmentality on the question of whose lives are to be improved and whose lives should be excluded from these developments. Within the framework of political feminist materialisms, I combine the concept of posthumanities with my concept of TechnoBrainBodies-in-Cultures to envision and discuss a material-discursive strategy, encompassing dimensions of affect, sociality, resistance, compassion, cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, multiple sexes/sexualities, aging, dis/abilities-in short, all of this "intersectional stuff"-as well as obstinate techno-brain agencies and contumacies foreseen in these cyborgian futures.
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Tanioka R, Betriana F, Locsin RC. Treatise on the influence of theism, transhumanism, and posthumanism on nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice. Nurs Philos 2021; 22:e12350. [PMID: 33735494 DOI: 10.1111/nup.12350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Reservations concerning the ontologies of theism, transhumanism and posthumanism compel an explicatory discourse on their influences on Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare. Key journals in Nursing and health sciences have recently devoted themed issues on intelligent machine technologies such as humanoid healthcare robots and other highly technological healthcare devices and practice initiatives. While the technological advance witnessed has been a cause for celebration, questions still remain that are focused on the epistemological concerns. The purpose of this article is to discuss theistic ontologies such as the Judeo-Christian, Shinto-Buddhist and Islamic religious belief systems on transhumanism and posthumanism in the assimilation of symbiotic technological beings in Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice. In view of the approaching technological singularity dominating arguments regarding the future of human beings, a treatise on Nursing and rehabilitation health care is positioned well within the realms of human care. Theism, transhumanism and posthumanism are directing discussions regarding human beings and healthcare processes. It is imperative that the beneficial effects of these discussions be acknowledged within the highly technological world of Nursing and rehabilitative healthcare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryuichi Tanioka
- Graduate School of Health Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Feni Betriana
- Graduate School of Health Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - Rozzano C Locsin
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.,Florida Atlantic University, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Boca Raton, FL, USA.,Visiting Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Abstract
Why should we become posthuman? There is only one morally compelling answer to this question: because posthumanity will be a more beneficial state, better than present humanity. This is the Posthuman Beneficence Argument (PBA), the centerpiece of the liberal transhumanist defense of "directed evolution." In this article, I examine PBA and find it deficient on a number of lethal counts. My argument focuses on the writings of transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom, who has developed the most articulate defense of PBA and disclosed its metaethical framework. I begin by locating PBA in the context of wider transhumanist claims for the desirability of posthumanity. I identify two crucial components: (1) a model of deliberative rationality, requiring reasons to endorse claims; and (2) the reasons themselves (i.e., the greater beneficence that posthumanity represents). I examine these two conditions, in turn, specifying the claims that they ask us to accept. Following Bostrom, I argue that there is a need for a foundationalist approach that assures us of some universality in the process of valuation. This is required to appropriately ground the moral continuity and appeal to universality that PBA demands. I examine the reasons why this approach ultimately fails, leaving posthumanity as an unintelligible concept with no moral force. I conclude by identifying (and endorsing) a more mature approach to the debate on human enhancement, one that forfeits the grandiose but baseless claims too often found in transhumanist defenses of directed evolution. In short, posthumanity may be a good science fiction trope, but it has no normative force in the moral philosophy of human enhancement.
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18
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Abstract
Transhumanism advances an ideology promising a positive human advance through the application of new and as yet unrealized technologies. Underlying the whole is a libertarian ethos married to a very Christian eschatology promising a miraculous transformation that will answer human needs and redress human failings. In this paper, the supposedly scientific basis on which transhumanist promises are built is critiqued as futurist imaginings with little likelihood of actualization. Transhumanists themselves are likened to the affable con man Professor Harold Hill who, in The Music Man, describes as dire social problems whose solution is a youth band he seeks to sell but has no intention of building. Even were some of the transhumanist imaginings to be realized, I argue, the result would be a dystopia in which the few received benefits denied to the many. In advancing imaginary technologies as a solution to human needs, transhumanists and their bioethical fellow travelers handily avoid discussion of or advocacy for the kind of pedestrian social actions that demonstrably could achieve many of their purported goals. So their enthusiasms, I conclude, are not merely fanciful but damaging to the humanist goals they pretend to advance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Koch
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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19
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Abstract
The use of artificial intelligence and robotics in health care means ethical principles need to be established. Artificial and human intelligence must be implemented in such as way as to complement each other. From humanism to anthropotechnics, the definitions of human and humanism are not set in stone. A philosophical reflection can enable their definition to be shaped.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mines Paris
- Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, 292, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris, France.
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20
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Abstract
Humans often seek to improve themselves, whether through self-discipline or through the use of science and technology. At some point in the future, techniques might become available that will change humans to such a degree that they might have to be regarded as something other than human: posthuman. This essay tries to define the point at which such a human-to-posthuman metamorphosis may occur. This is achieved by discerning what is it that makes human substance distinct, i.e. what is the human essence. This is accomplished by examining the features of the human body, looking at the mode of human existence in society and trying to grasp the importance of the body-soul relationship. Throughout the process, humans are compared to animals as well as entities from literature, film, and the gaming world. These are used as case studies to shape and test the ideas developed throughout the essay. This essay's conclusions might become useful when decisions will have to be made as to the legal status of posthumans, by providing a tool for discerning when metamorphosis has occurred. Moreover, insights from this essay might also inform debates surrounding the ethical status of certain modalities of human enhancement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Pruski
- a School of Healthcare Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering , Manchester Metropolitan University , Manchester , UK.,b Critical Care Laboratory, Critical Care Directorate , Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust , Manchester , UK
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21
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Šuleková M, Fitzgerald KT. Can the Thought of Teilhard de Chardin Carry Us Past Current Contentious Discussions of Gene Editing Technologies? Camb Q Healthc Ethics 2019; 28:62-75. [PMID: 30570465 DOI: 10.1017/S0963180118000397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The advent of CRISPR-Cas9 technology has increased attention, and contention, regarding the use and regulation of genome editing technologies. Public discussions continue to give evidence of this debate falling back into the previous polarized positions of technological enthusiasts versus those who are more cautious in their approach. One response to this contentious relapse could be to view this promising and problematic new technology from a radically different perspective that embraces both the excitement of this technological advance and the prudence necessary to use it well. The thought of Teilhard de Chardin provides this desired perspective, and some insights that may help carry forward public discussions to achieve widely accepted uses and regulations.
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22
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Abstract
Transhumanism is a "technoprogressive" socio-political and intellectual movement that advocates for the use of technology in order to transform the human organism radically, with the ultimate goal of becoming "posthuman." To this end, transhumanists focus on and encourage the use of new and emerging technologies, such as genetic engineering and brain-machine interfaces. In support of their vision for humanity, and as a way of reassuring those "bioconservatives" who may balk at the radical nature of that vision, transhumanists claim common ground with a number of esteemed thinkers and traditions, from the ancient philosophy of Plato and Aristotle to the postmodern philosophy of Nietzsche. It is crucially important to give proper scholarly attention to transhumanism now, not only because of its recent and ongoing rise as a cultural and political force (and the concomitant potential ramifications for bioethical discourse and public policy), but because of the imminence of major breakthroughs in the kinds of technologies that transhumanism focuses on. Thus, the articles in this issue of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy are either explicitly about transhumanism or are on topics, such as the ethics of germline engineering and criteria for personhood, that are directly relevant to the debate between transhumanists (and technoprogressives more broadly) and bioconservatives.
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23
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Abstract
Transhumanism promises us freedom from the biological limitations inherent in our nature. It aims to enhance physical, emotional and cognitive capacities thus opening up new possibilities and horizons of experience. Since many transhumanist aspirations resemble those within the domain of religion, this paper compares Christian ethics to transhumanist ethics with respect to the body and the environment and offers a critique of transhumanism. Three areas of contention are discussed: the modification of our given human nature, the radical extension of our lifespans and our relationship to the natural environment. It argues that in these three areas, the underlying values being transmitted to future generations about the body and the environment are incompatible with Christian principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Thompson
- a Heythrop College, University of London , London , UK
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24
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Karamanou M, Papaioannou TG, Soulis D, Tousoulis D. Engineering 'Posthumans': To Be or Not to Be? Trends Biotechnol 2017; 35:677-679. [PMID: 28522218 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Emerging technological innovations have transformed some science fiction ideas into reality, promising radical changes in human nature. New philosophical and intellectual movements such as 'transhumanism' and 'posthumanism' try to foretell and even direct the future of our existence while dealing with new and complex ethical, social, political issues and dilemmas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna Karamanou
- Institute of History of Medicine and Public Health, Medical School, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Theodore G Papaioannou
- Biomedical Engineering Unit, First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
| | - Dimitrios Soulis
- Biomedical Engineering Unit, First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Tousoulis
- Biomedical Engineering Unit, First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
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25
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Abstract
ABSTRACT. Neural enhancement represents recovery of function that has been lost due to injury or disease pathology. Restoration of functional ability is the objective. For example, a neuroprosthetic to replace a forearm and hand lost to the ravages of war or industrial accident. However, the same basic constructs used for neural enhancement after injury could amplify abilities that are already in the natural normal range. That is, neural enhancement technologies to restore function and improve daily abilities for independent living could be used to improve so-called normal function to ultimate function. Approaching that functional level by use and integration of technology takes us toward the concept of a new species. This new subspecies—homo sapiens technologicus—is one that uses technology not just to assist but to change its own inherent biological function. The author uses examples from prosthetics and neuroprosthetics to address the issue of the limitations of constructs on the accepted range of human performance ability and aims to provide a cautionary view toward reflection on where our science may take the entire species.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Paul Zehr
- a Rehabilitation Neuroscience Laboratory , University of Victoria , Canada
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26
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Zehr EP. Future think: cautiously optimistic about brain augmentation using tissue engineering and machine interface. Front Syst Neurosci 2015; 9:72. [PMID: 26042003 PMCID: PMC4436819 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2015] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- E Paul Zehr
- Rehabilitation Neuroscience Laboratory, University Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada ; Human Discovery Science, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada ; Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria BC, Canada ; School of Exercise Science, Physical, and Health Education, University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada ; Zanshin Consulting, Inc. Victoria, BC, Canada
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27
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Abstract
The literature on Human Enhancement may indeed have reached a critical mass yet theological engagement with the subject is still thin. Human Enhancement has already been established as a key topic within research and captivating visions of the future have been allied with a depth of philosophical analysis. Some Transhumanists have pointed to a theological dimension to their position and some who have warned against enhancement might be seen as having done so from a perspective shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Nonetheless, in neither of these cases has theology been central to engagement with the enhancement quest.Christian theologians who have begun to open up such an engagement with Human Enhancement include Brent Waters, Robert Song and Celia Deane-Drummond. The work they have already carried out is insightful and important yet due to the scale of the possible engagement, the wealth of Christian theology which might be applied to Human Enhancement remains largely untapped. This paper explores how three key aspects of Christian theology, eschatology, love of God and love of neighbour, provide valuable tools for a theological engagement with Human Enhancement. It is proposed that such theological tools need to be applied to Human Enhancement if the debate is to be resourced with the Christian theological perspective of what it means to be human in our contemporary technological context and if society is to have the choice of maintaining its Christian foundations.
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28
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Attiah MA, Farah MJ. Minds, motherboards, and money: futurism and realism in the neuroethics of BCI technologies. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:86. [PMID: 24860445 PMCID: PMC4030132 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2014] [Accepted: 04/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Attiah
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA, USA
- Center for Neuroscience & Society, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA, USA
| | - Martha J. Farah
- Center for Neuroscience & Society, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA, USA
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