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McCormickTranscendence.pdf (845.73 KB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
Transcendence: An Ethical Analysis of Enhancement Technologies
Author Info
McCormick, Sean Eli
ORCID® Identifier
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6610-8629
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1464233924
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2016, Master of Arts in Philosophy, Cleveland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
Abstract
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.
Committee
Allyson Robichaud, PhD (Committee Chair)
Sonya Charles, PhD (Committee Member)
Linda Francis, PhD (Committee Member)
Pages
180 p.
Subject Headings
Biomechanics
;
Biomedical Engineering
;
Classical Studies
;
Ethics
;
Evolution and Development
;
Medical Ethics
;
Philosophy
;
Religion
;
Sociology
;
Theology
Keywords
Transhumanism
;
ethics
;
philosophy
;
theology
;
enhancement technology
;
bioethics
;
biotechnology
;
human nature
;
medical technology
;
cognition
;
prosthetics
;
genetic engineering
;
nootropics
;
justice
;
just distribution
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
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)
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Document number:
csu1464233924
Download Count:
1,072
Copyright Info
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Cleveland State University and OhioLINK.