Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares

The Promise and Peril of Genetic Engineering

AvMaxwell J. Mehlman

Inbunden, Engelska, 2012

Del i serien Bioethics

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Beskrivning

Transhumanists advocate for the development and distribution of technologies that will enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, even eliminate aging. What if the dystopian futures and transhumanist utopias found in the pages of science journals, Margaret Atwood novels, films like "Gattaca", and television shows like "Dark Angel" are realized? What kind of world would humans have created? Maxwell J. Mehlman considers the promises and perils of using genetic engineering in an effort to direct the future course of human evolution. He addresses scientific and ethical issues without choosing sides in the dispute between transhumanists and their challengers. However, "Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares" reveals that radical forms of genetic engineering could become a reality much sooner than many people think, and that we need to encourage risk management efforts. Whether scientists are dubious or optimistic about the prospects for directed evolution, they tend to agree on two things.First, however long it takes to perfect the necessary technology, it is inevitable that humans will attempt to control their evolutionary future, and second, in the process of learning how to direct evolution, we are bound to make mistakes. Our responsibility is to learn how to balance innovation with caution.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2012-11-26
Mått:152 x 229 x 24 mm
Vikt:522 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Bioethics
Antal sidor:288
Förlag:Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN:9781421406695

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Mer om författaren

Maxwell J. Mehlman is a professor of bioethics, the Petersilge Professor of Law, and director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University. He is author of The Price of Perfection: Individualism and Society in the Era of Biomedical Enhancement, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Recensioner i media

Bioethicist Maxwell Mehlman thinks that we will inevitably reengineer the human species, and he writes about that and the mistakes we might make in the process... A deep and wide-ranging catalog of the implications of transhumanism as a philosophical doctrine and a careful analysis of potential pitfalls and concerns... Accessible while having enough scientific substance to be taken seriously, Transhumanist Dreams provides a thought-provoking read for genetics professionals, ethicists, interested scientists, and concerned citizens. -- Michael A. Goldman Science

Innehållsförteckning

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: What Is to Come?1. Visions of Heaven and Hell2. Thinking about the UnthinkablePart II: The Hazards of Evolutionary Engineering3. Physical Harm to Children4. Psychosocial Harm to Children5. Broader Consequences for Society6. The End of the Human Lineage7. Evolution by Nature or by Human Design?Part III: Managing Risk in Evolutionary Engineering8. Protecting the Children9. Preserving Societal Cohesion10. Providing for Our Descendents11. Safeguarding the Human SpeciesEpilogueNotesIndex