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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

Enhancement technologies and the modern self.

¹Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, 410 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. ellio023@umn.edu

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy

|September 10, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Many people are uneasy about human enhancement technologies due to the underlying desires they represent. This unease can be understood by examining social recognition, authenticity ethics, and instrumental reason in modern selfhood.

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Area of Science:

Philosophy of Technology
Bioethics
Sociology of Self

Background:

Public apprehension towards human enhancement technologies is widespread but often poorly articulated.
This unease is frequently linked not to the technologies per se, but to the values and ambitions they embody.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the root causes of public discomfort with human enhancement.
To connect this unease to Charles Taylor's philosophical concepts regarding the modern self.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of public attitudes towards enhancement.
Application of philosophical frameworks, specifically Charles Taylor's theories on the self.
Examination of three key themes: social recognition, authenticity, and instrumental reason.

Main Results:

The unease surrounding enhancement technologies stems from their reflection of modern desires.
Taylor's concepts of social recognition, authenticity, and instrumental reason provide a framework for understanding this unease.
The study identifies a tension between the pursuit of enhancement and the value of authentic selfhood.

Conclusions:

Understanding the philosophical underpinnings of the modern self is crucial for addressing concerns about human enhancement.
The ethical discourse on enhancement should consider the social and existential dimensions highlighted by Taylor.
Further research can explore the interplay between technological advancement and the evolving concept of the self.