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Inquiring into Human Enhancement pp 60–85Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Why Do We Wish to be Enhanced?

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Part of the book series: Health, Technology and Society ((HTE))

Abstract

Recent progress in the fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science1 has led to a growing debate concerning the use of these technologies to increase, among other things, individuals’ cognitive and physical capacities, as well as their longevity. In Western countries, new philosophical movements, such as the transhumanists,2 speculate on the possibilities of using these technologies to dramatically ‘enhance’ human beings (Bostrom, 2005). For such thinkers, humanity is moving towards a post-human condition where biotechnologically enhanced humans will bypass the standard Darwinian concept of evolution (Harris, 2007). They argue that ultimately, technological progress will lead these post-humans to reverse the ageing process and to experience extreme longevity, if not immortality (de Grey, 2005; Kurzweil and Grossman, 2009). The idea of such a radical transformation of human beings is not just a curious idea shared by a small group of eccentric thinkers. Nowadays, many widely circulated magazines are voicing transhumanist ideas,3 while institutes specifically dedicated to the development of technologies to modify human beings are opening their doors.4

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Authors
  1. Vincent Menuz
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France

    Simone Bateman

  2. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France

    Jean Gayon

  3. Université Catholique de Lyon, France

    Sylvie Allouche

  4. Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France

    Jérôme Goffette

  5. Université Paris Descartes, France

    Michela Marzano

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© 2015 Vincent Menuz

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Menuz, V. (2015). Why Do We Wish to be Enhanced?. In: Bateman, S., Gayon, J., Allouche, S., Goffette, J., Marzano, M. (eds) Inquiring into Human Enhancement. Health, Technology and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137530073_4

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