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Transcendence: An Ethical Analysis of Enhancement Technologies

McCormick, Sean Eli

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Arts in Philosophy, Cleveland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
New technologies are being made available to the general public that have the capability of enhancing the physical and cognitive capacities and the genetic structures of humans. These human enhancement technologies (HETs) have the potential to alter what it means to be human and to have wide-ranging effects on society. This study seeks to analyze these technologies and explore the ethical problems associated with them. To these ends, this study examines three questions raised by the introduction of these technologies: 1) does the usage of HETs corrupt or otherwise devalue human nature? 2) do HETs, on average, promote the goods of individuals and of societies? 3) what constitutes a just distribution of HETs? Part I attempts to synthesize a holistic conception of human nature utilizing elements from philosophical, theological, and scientific conceptions. Part II takes this holistic conception forward to analyze the utility of certain prosthetic, cognitive, and genetic enhancements. Part II also attempts to outline a just distribution of HETs based on overall social utility. This study concludes that a physical reductionist conception of human nature synthesized with certain conceptions of human flourishing would find particular HETs advantageous to personal and social goods. Those HETs which, on average, promote these goods should be developed and distributed to the general public. Societies beset with scarcity issues should ensure that basic necessities remain a priority before the distribution of enhancements is considered. Social policy analysts and legislators also need to ensure that the distribution of HETs does not exacerbate the widening socio-economic divide between wealthier social classes and the impoverished. Instead, HETs should be distributed to promote the net good of individuals within a particular society.
Allyson Robichaud, PhD (Committee Chair)
Sonya Charles, PhD (Committee Member)
Linda Francis, PhD (Committee Member)
180 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McCormick, S. E. (2016). Transcendence: An Ethical Analysis of Enhancement Technologies [Master's thesis, Cleveland State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1464233924

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McCormick, Sean. Transcendence: An Ethical Analysis of Enhancement Technologies. 2016. Cleveland State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1464233924.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McCormick, Sean. "Transcendence: An Ethical Analysis of Enhancement Technologies." Master's thesis, Cleveland State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1464233924

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)