The History of Medical Enhancement: From Restitutio ad Integrum to Transformatio ad Optimum?

The subject of medical enhancement has received growing attention over recent years predominantly due to the developments in the fields of biomedicine and to technological possibilities. This could lead erroneously to the assumption that the subject itself is new and that human beings are considering for the first time how they might improve themselves. This is not the case. The idea of human optimization and self-perfecting is not new. Human beings, as far as we can judge from the historical sources, have always been interested in creating or bettering themselves, and have always intervened in their own reproduction. The practical measures and theoretical concepts involved in enhancing human beings have, however, transformed considerably over the course of history. Presented below is an overview of the topic together with several important key conclusions, drawn from selected authors and related examples pertinent to the discussion.