Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Humanistic Psychology01:24

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the deterministic and pessimistic nature of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. While behaviorism focused on observable behaviors influenced by the environment and psychoanalysis delved into unconscious motivations, both theories suggested that human actions lacked free will. In contrast, humanistic psychology offers a perspective that emphasizes the innate potential for goodness and growth within every individual.
This approach...
Carl Rogers' Humanistic Perspective on Personality01:23

Carl Rogers' Humanistic Perspective on Personality

Carl Rogers, a key figure in humanistic psychology, believed that individuals possess an innate potential for growth and fulfillment. According to his model of personality, three significant components define an individual: the organism, the self, and conditions of worth.
The organism refers to an individual's inherent blueprint, which Rogers saw as innately positive and directed toward helping others, unlike Freud's view of the id as driven by base impulses. The self is a person's...
Maslow's Humanistic Approach on Personality01:28

Maslow's Humanistic Approach on Personality

Abraham Maslow, a prominent figure in humanistic psychology, developed a theory centered on self-actualization, which he placed at the top of his hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, self-actualization represents achieving one's full potential and is a rare accomplishment attained by approximately 2% of the population. Maslow identified notable historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, and Martin Luther King Jr. as examples of self-actualized individuals.
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
Catalytically Perfect Enzymes01:07

Catalytically Perfect Enzymes

The theory of catalytically perfect enzymes was first proposed by W.J. Albery and J. R. Knowles in 1976. These enzymes catalyze biochemical reactions at high-speed. Their catalytic efficiency values range from 108-109 M-1s-1. These enzymes are also called 'diffusion-controlled' as the only rate-limiting step in the catalysis is that of the substrate diffusion into the active site. Examples include triose phosphate isomerase, fumarase, and superoxide dismutase.
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Correction: The role of social justice in triage revisited: a threshold conception.

Medicine, health care, and philosophy·2025
Same author

The role of social justice in triage revisited: a threshold conception.

Medicine, health care, and philosophy·2024
Same author

Doing Justice to Patients with Dementia in ICU Triage.

The American journal of bioethics : AJOB·2021
Same author

Ethics of ICU triage during COVID-19.

British medical bulletin·2021
Same author

Science fiction and human enhancement: radical life-extension in the movie 'In Time' (2011).

Medicine, health care, and philosophy·2018
Same author

Patient data and patient rights: Swiss healthcare stakeholders' ethical awareness regarding large patient data sets - a qualitative study.

BMC medical ethics·2018

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Human enhancement and perfection.

Johann A R Roduit1, Holger Baumann, Jan-Christoph Heilinger

  • 1Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|February 26, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Both bioconservatives and bioliberals should openly discuss human perfection. Their implicit ideas on a good life influence human enhancement debates, but both sides inconsistently use and neglect perfection concepts, causing ethical confusion.

Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Philosophy of Technology

Background:

  • Ethical debates on human enhancement interventions are often confused by implicit and inconsistent use of the concept of perfection.
  • Both bioconservative and bioliberal viewpoints rely on underlying assumptions about human perfection and the good life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the role of perfection in the ethical debate surrounding human enhancement.
  • To reveal the paradoxical reliance on perfectionist ideas within bioconservative arguments against enhancement.
  • To examine bioliberal claims that the concept of perfection is irrelevant to enhancement debates.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of bioconservative and bioliberal arguments regarding human enhancement.
  • Examination of implicit assumptions about human perfection in ethical discourse.
Keywords:
Enhancement

More Related Videos

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

  • Critique of the consistency and coherence of perfectionist stances in bioethics.
  • Main Results:

    • Bioconservatives paradoxically employ specific conceptions of human perfection to argue against biotechnological enhancement, revealing an internal ambiguity.
    • Bioliberals also implicitly rely on a conception of perfection, particularly one centered on autonomy, despite claims of its irrelevance.
    • Both positions demonstrate an unacknowledged dependence on perfectionist ideals, contributing to ethical confusion.

    Conclusions:

    • A direct discussion of human perfection is necessary to clarify the ethical debate on human enhancement interventions.
    • Both bioconservative and bioliberal stances require revision to address their implicit and often contradictory engagement with perfection.
    • Explicitly defining assumptions about the good human life is crucial for coherent ethical reasoning on enhancement technologies.