Year: 2008
Type: book
Abstract: Interconnection technologies, including battlefield management systems and the newly introduced network enabled capability (NEC) bring in a host of new technologies, amongst which the possible introduction of exoskeletons for soldiers and future co-operation between soldiers and robots.It is beyond doubt that humanity will go through a radical socio-cultural and technical change in the coming decades.Cognitive enhancement has already proved to be a great good in medical and psychiatric therapeutic treatment.Its further exploration in the domain of human wellbeing is slowly moving out of the experimental phase.Continued scientific research into the inevitability of the ageing process, and the limitations on human intellectual endeavour will, as all contributors to this volume aspire, be instrumental to effectively improve the human condition and its behavioural expression.The questions that exploration in human enhancement pose will need to be addressed by political decision-makers, regulators and of course the public at large.To identify these questions and the various groups of people who are involved in this topic is not a matter of armchair-philosophy.In this book we will read the contributions of a wide variety of experts who are working in the field of human enhancement, irrespective whether they would chose to use that term themselves or not.These contributions sketch the current state of affairs in specific scientific domains and in specific domains of application.The reason to bring these authors together, however, was not only to give an impression of the state-of-the-art of human enhancement.Reasons were also to use their contributions as a starting point to discover where developments will lead us, what type of questions they pose, which groups of people will be affected by future use of human enhancement technologies and how they will transform the self-perception of people and the image of society.It is impossible to give final answers to these questions.That would prove to be as much a case of hubris as human enhancement itself is sometimes being accused of.But these contributions may help us to better understand what is going on in the laboratories, and what the ulterior roots are that drive these developments.With that knowledge in mind we should be better able to anticipate on the societal impact of human enhancement and we may see more clearly in what way it will affect the human condition of our times.References -Bygren, L.O., Edvinsson S., and Bostrom, G. (2000).Change in food availability during pregnancy: Is it related to adult sudden death from cerebro -and cardiovascular disease in offspring?
Authors: L. Zonneveld, H. Dijstelbloem, D. Ringoir
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W2416193353