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Human enhancement and communication: on meaning and shared understanding
1Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. laura.cabrera@unibas.ch
Science and Engineering Ethics
|October 12, 2012
Summary
Human enhancement technologies may fundamentally alter our shared reality, potentially disrupting human communication. This research explores the ethical implications of such radical changes to our lifeworld and interactions.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Philosophy of Technology
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Technological advancements enable human enhancement, fulfilling desires for improvement and new capacities.
- Existing ethical debates on human enhancement largely overlook impacts on communication.
- Little research exists on how human enhancement might affect human communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore if human enhancements could radically alter the shared lifeworld, rendering current human communication impossible.
- To identify potential communication problems arising from specific enhancement interventions.
- To address the ethical implications of these potential communication disruptions.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of human enhancement technologies and their potential effects on the shared lifeworld.
- Exploration of hypothetical enhancement scenarios and their impact on communication.
- Ethical analysis of the consequences of altered communication.
Main Results:
- Certain human enhancements could profoundly change our shared lifeworld and communication norms.
- Specific technological interventions may lead to communication breakdowns.
- The ethical considerations of these communication shifts are significant.
Conclusions:
- Human enhancement poses a risk to the foundations of human communication.
- The potential for radical changes in communication necessitates ethical attention.
- Given communication's societal role, these issues warrant further research and discussion.
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