From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Mar 14 2002 - 09:18:50 MST
There will be an online debate featuring Francis Fukuyama vs.
Gregory Stock on the subject of whether we should allow genetic
and biological manipulations with the potential to alter human
beings. It will start at March 18, and seems highly relevant.
http://reason.com/debate/eh-debate1.shtml
This is *very* important for the transhumanist community to
monitor, because Fukuyama is coming out with a book _Our
Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution_
in April. From
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374236437/ref=ase_reasonmagazine/104-0500157-4582347 :
Fukuyama argues that "the most significant threat" from
biotechnology is "the possibility that it will alter
human nature and thereby move us into a `posthuman'
stage of history." The most obvious way that might
happen is through the achievement of genetically
engineered "designer babies," but he presents other,
imminent routes as well: research on the genetic basis
of behavior; neuropharmacology, which has already begun
to reshape human behavior through drugs like Prozac and
Ritalin; and the prolongation of life, to the extent
that society might come "to resemble a giant nursing
home." Fukuyama then draws on Aristotle and the concept
of "natural right" to argue against unfettered
development of biotechnology. His claim is that a
substantive human nature exists, that basic ethical
principles and political rights such as equality are
based on judgments about that nature, and therefore
that human dignity itself could be lost if human nature
is altered. Finally, he argues that state power,
possibly in the form of new regulatory institutions,
should be used to regulate biotechnology, and that
pessimism about the ability of the global community to
do this is unwarranted. Throughout, Fukuyama avoids
ideological straitjackets and articulates a position
that is neither Luddite nor laissez-faire.
Given that Fukuyama is an important vector for ideas in our
current society, that he is on Bush's bioethics comitte, that
he takes a stance *against* what I would regard as core
transhumanist values (based on his limited view of human
nature) as well as explicitely naming the bad future posthuman,
the importance of the situation cannot be overestimated. This
really is the big ideological fight we cannot afford to lose.
We need to act now. Time for everybody to get writing and
thinking! We need to build our case for posthuman dignity.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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