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New Waves in Philosophy of Technology pp 169–185Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Human Enhancement and Personal Identity

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Part of the book series: New Waves in Philosophy ((NWIP))

Abstract

In this essay, I will investigate the implications of human enhancement for personal identity and assess likely social and ethical consequences of these changes. Human enhancement, also called human augmentation, is an emerging field within medicine and bioengineering that aims to develop technologies and techniques for overcoming current limitations of human cognitive and physical abilities (Naam, 2004; Wilsdon and Miller, 2006; Garreau, 2005; Parens, 1998; Agar, 2004). Technologies developed in this field are called human enhancement technologies (HETs). HETs rely on advances in genetic engineering, pharmacology, bioengineering, cybernetics and nanotechnology. In these fields, it is becoming possible to develop techniques that improve human functions beyond a normal range. The envisioned applications are limitless, and include the enhancement of human traits like muscular strength, endurance, vision, intelligence, mood and personality.

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Authors
  1. Philip Brey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jan Kyrre Berg Olsen

  2. Rochester Institute of Technology, USA

    Evan Selinger

  3. University of Roskilde, Denmark

    Søren Riis

Copyright information

© 2009 Philip Brey

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Brey, P. (2009). Human Enhancement and Personal Identity. In: Olsen, J.K.B., Selinger, E., Riis, S. (eds) New Waves in Philosophy of Technology. New Waves in Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230227279_9

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