Is it right to use biomedical technologies to make us better than well or even perhaps better than human? Should we view our biology as fixed or should we try to improve on it? College students are already taking cognitive enhancement drugs. The U.S. army is already working to develop drugs and technologies to produce "super soldiers." Scientists already know how to use genetic engineering techniques to enhance the strength and memories of mice and the application of such technologies tohumans is on the horizon. In Better Than Human, philosopher-bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples with the ethical dilemmas of the biomedical enhancement revolution. Biomedical enhancements can make us smarter, have better memories, be stronger, quicker, have more stamina, live much longer, avoid the frailties of aging, and enjoy richer emotional lives. In spite of the benefits that biomedical enhancements may bring, many people instinctively reject them. Some worry that we will lose something important - our appreciation for what we have or what makes human beings distinctively valuable. Others assume that biomedical enhancements will only be available to the rich, with the result that social inequalities will worsen. Buchanan shows that the debate over enhancement has been distorted by false assumptions and misleading rhetoric. To think clearly about enhancement, we have to acknowledge that human nature is a mixed bag and that our species has many "design flaws." We should beopen to the possibility of becoming better than human, while never underestimating the risks that our attempts to improve may back-fire.
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Review
"I cannot do justice to the richness of Buchanan's analysis in the scope of this review. Buchanan is a first-class guide through the complex thicket of issues and arguments related to BME." --Washington Independent Review of Books
About the Author
Allen Buchanan is the author of eleven books on bioethics and political philosophy. He has served on the Advisory Council for the National Human Genome Research Institute, Staff Philosopher for the President's Commission on Medical Ethics, and as consultant to President Barack Obama's Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough review of human enhancement
April 1 2013
By Dpmartin
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Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author methodically lists the issues and addresses them. This book helped me to think through some of the issues that had not come up before.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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Excellent
Mar 29 2013
By Peter Luykx
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This is a good book, based on a good understanding of what evolution is, and what it has (and hasn’t) wrought. It is thoughtful, thought-provoking, and simply and clearly written. It goes beneath the surfaces of both knee-jerk objections and knee-jerk enthusiasms. At the end, whichever side you come out on, this book is likely to have removed the panicky element in your thinking about this subject.
0 of 9 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
School book
Dec 6 2012
By Lisa Kenny
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Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok, what could I say, I took a course in college and needed it for class. Nothing special would not of bought it otherwise
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