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Radical enhancement as a moral status de-enhancer
1Colorado State University, 243 Eddy Hall, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA. Jesse.gray2@colostate.edu.
Monash Bioethics Review
|August 1, 2020
Summary
Radical human enhancement may decrease moral status. Emerging technologies granting control over mental states reduce vulnerability, challenging the idea that enhanced beings deserve greater rights.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Philosophy of Mind
- Human Enhancement
Background:
- Concerns exist regarding the moral status of radically enhanced humans.
- Philosophers like Agar, McMahan, and Buchanan argue enhanced beings may deserve greater rights.
- Current human vulnerability is linked to a lack of control over mental states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the notion that radical human enhancement confers superior moral status.
- To propose an alternative framework for understanding moral status based on vulnerability.
- To analyze the implications of emerging technologies for mental state control.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation
- Analysis of ethical theories on moral status
- Examination of emerging neurotechnologies
Main Results:
- Emerging technologies may grant enhanced individuals direct control over their mental states.
- Reduced vulnerability, stemming from mental state control, is proposed as a key factor in moral status.
- Radically enhanced beings, being less vulnerable, may possess a subordinate moral status compared to species-typical humans.
Conclusions:
- Moral status should be reassessed in light of technological advancements in human enhancement.
- The capacity for mental self-command reduces vulnerability, potentially lowering moral status.
- Future ethical frameworks must account for the evolving nature of human vulnerability and moral standing.
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