Samenvatting lessen the augmented human - 2021-2022
,1 Lecture one: An introduction into the concept of
Human Augmentation
Aims
- Introduction to the concept of augmentation e.g., enhancement
- Difficulties of a single (legal) definition thus the law focuses more on specified
areas of enhancement / techniques
- There is not one legal framework that applies to all different forms of
enhancement or augmentation because of the vagueness of the definition
A few examples of how enhancement is looked upon in popular culture = negative
connotation
- Frankenstein
o Novel ‘Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus’ by Mary Shelly in the 19 th C
o Frankenstein had superior abilities to the average human (made up with dead
body parts): intelligence, stamina, strength, healing ability. People felt
repulsed – contradictory to human nature, God and human dignity
o Contributed to an idea that human augmentation is monstrous
o Producing something that is unnatural
o A distaste for mixing the unliving or the dead with the living
- Eugenics
o A misplaced desire to better the human race
o Already existed in ancient Greece e.g., Plato
o Modern idea’s of eugenics started in the west during the late 19 th C, beginning
20th C.
o Arose with the acceptance of Darwins theory of evolution – an understanding
of evolution came with the realization that neither humans nor animals are
perfect or fixed but constantly changing
o So… “if humans are imperfect and changing all the time, why not attempt, to
change the human race for the better and mold the future of humanity and
society”
o Eugenics movement started in 1883 with Francis Galton (Darwins Cousin);
was influenced by Darwins ideas of domestic breeding animals (artificial
selection of cows, dogs) he also invented the term ‘eugenics’ in 1883 and set
down many observations and conclusions in a book: Inquiries into Human
Faculty and Its Development
o Aims of the Eugenics Movement: encourage selective breeding amongst
couples with advanced traits (healthy, strong) because Galton was concerned
that people with advantaged traits (usually higher-class ppl) were having
fewer children than those with disadvantaged traits (usually lower class). This
resulted in a fear of the gradual degradation of humanity and society which
resulted in population control through Darwinian sectional pressures.
o Eugenics became accepted until the mid 20th C in many countries
o Eugenics became less popular after 1945 (WOII)
Samenvatting lessen the augmented human - 2021-2022
, Socially less popular: Nazi regime adopted eugenics idea’s into their
ideology that Germanic people were superior than others, especially
the jews were inferior and posed a threat to humanity, thereby
justifying the holocaust
Scientifically less popular: increasing understanding of the underlying
genetic basis and their complexity led to further rejection of eugenics
(it is scientifically proven that there is no such thing as a ‘better’ race)
What is augmentation? Early (common) examples and not just new biological
technology – augmentation is not new but also part of our day to day lives
- Vaccination
o 1881 Pasteur helped develop vaccin for Anthrax used in animals, in 1885
Pasteur tested his vaccin on humans.
o Vaccination has since gone on to become one of the most effective public
health processes in human history
o Are vaccines a medical treatment or a form of augmentation?
Vaccines do not treat sick people, they augment/upgrade healthy
people to deal with future threats
Common definitions of augmentation involve something that
improves somebody which is not a medical treatment = can involve a
vaccine
- Chemicals (drugs) during war
o Use of amphetamines of soldiers in WOII: stay awake and retain cognitive
functioning for prolonged periods of time, providing an edge in combat
o Provided to stay awake, reduce fear and be more aggressive was also used by
other countries and became a pharmalogical weapon
o But also coffee/tea/redbull are neurostimulants/neuromodulators which
might also fall under some definitions of augmentation
How can you define augmentation or enhancement? Problematic
- Where does treatment end, augmentation begin?
o Common reflex when talking about augmentation is comparing it to a medical
treatment
o Medical treatment is usually defined as efforts to:
Treat disease
Reduce suffering
Prevent death
o Defining illness or suffering is not easy
o Often a reference to a ‘normal’ or ‘average’ person is used: medical
treatment is often described in relation to bringing a person back to what a
normal or average person should be in society = threshold. However, defining
what is normal or average is also not easy.
o What about instances when people are not ill, but simply want to change
themselves, or when people are maybe not below the average in population,
what is considered ‘normal’, but are unhappy with themselves: are these also
medical treatments? Or augmentations? Some medical treatments now might
have been enhancement treatments in the past.
Samenvatting lessen the augmented human - 2021-2022
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