Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 11:23:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [HAB:] "democratic transhumanism"


The following is provocatively relevant for persons
interested in Habermas's _The Future of Human Nature_.
 
[Yahoo! subscribers: I won't do anymore cross posting
after this month, I feel.]  I sent the following
*yesterday* to the HAB list, but it never went
through---which means it will probably turn up again
in several days. Sorry.]

--------------------------------------

James Hughes, who teaches health policy at Trinity
College in Hartford, Connecticut, has just published a
fascinating, realistic and progressive book on a
*politics* for burgeoning enhancement culture:
_Citizen Cyborg_ (Westview Press, 2004), which seems
to be the proper answer to Habermas's concerns in _The
Future of Human Nature_ (ch. 2 on liberal eugenics). I
intend to make much use of this soon in a topic on our
changing sense of well-being.

"This book," Hughes begins, "argues that transhuman
technologies, technologies that push the boundaries of
humanness, can radically improve our quality of life,
and that we have a fundamental right to use them to
control our bodies and minds. But to ensure these
benefits we need to democratically regulate these
technologies and make them equally available in free
societies. Becoming more than human can improve all
our lives, but only new forms of transhuman
citizenship and democracy will make us freer, more
equal and more united." [xii]

I've provided extended excerpts from the
"Introduction" of his book:

http://cohering.net/re/001cybcit.html

Gary

 





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