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Better Than Human: The Promise And Perils Of Enhancing OurselvesStock informationGeneral Fields
Special Fields
DescriptionIs it ethical for medical science to do more than treat illness--to actually make us "better than human"? Currently the U.S. military is searching for a drug that will allow soldiers to stop sleeping, completely--and tests have already been conducted on promising candidates. In fact, scientists are presently investigating many ways to alter our DNA and give us abilities that we currently lack--much as we produce genetically modified fish and crops. Where do we draw the line, between using medical science to improve our lives, and providing an unfair advantage enjoyed only by those who afford it? In Better than Human, noted bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples with the ethical dilemmas of the medical revolution now upon us. Biomedical enhancements, he writes, can make us smarter, have better memories, be stronger, quicker, have more stamina, live much longer, be more resistant to disease and to the frailties of aging, and enjoy richer emotional lives. They can even improve our character, or at least strengthen our powers of self-control. Table of contentsPREFACE; CHAPTER ONE: BREATHLESS OPTIMISM, HYSTERICAL LOATHING; CHAPTER TWO: WHY EVOLUTION ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH; CHAPTER THREE: CHANGING HUMAN NATURE?; CHAPTER FOUR: PLAYING GOD, RESPONSIBLY; CHAPTER FIVE: WILL THE RICH GET BIOLOGICALLY RICHER?; CHAPTER SIX: IS ENHANCEMENT CORRUPTING?; CHAPTER SEVEN: THE ENHANCEMENT ENTERPRISE; BIBLIOGRAPHY |