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What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement

Authors:

  • Critically examines present and future technologies for human enhancement
  • Identifies strengths and weaknesses in the transhumanist and bioconservative arguments for and against human enhancement
  • Introduces the notion that death is a process rather than an event
  • Identifies philosophical and clinical limitations in contemporary brain death determination
  • Clarifies philosophical and clinical issues in the realm of cryonic suspension

Part of the book series: Anticipation Science (ANTISC, volume 3)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
  2. Introduction

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 1-9
  3. Biomedical Ethics

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 11-46
  4. Humans, Transhumans and Humanoids

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 47-73
  5. Life, Death, and Brain Death

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 93-112
  6. Defending Attacks Against Transhumanism

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 133-147
  7. Transhumanism and Religion

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 149-177
  8. Conclusions

    • D. John Doyle
    Pages 179-183
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 185-213

About this book

This book is a critical examination of the philosophical and moral issues in relation to human enhancement and the various related medical developments that are now rapidly moving from the laboratory into the clinical realm. In the book, the author critically examines technologies such as genetic engineering, neural implants, pharmacologic enhancement, and cryonic suspension from transhumanist and bioconservative positions, focusing primarily on moral issues and what it means to be a human in a setting where technological interventions sometimes impact strongly on our humanity. 

The author also introduces the notion that death is a process rather than an event, as well as identifies philosophical and clinical limitations in the contemporary determination of brain death as a precursor to organ procurement for transplantation. The discussion on what exactly it means to be dead is later applied to explore philosophical and clinical issues germane to the cryonics movement. 


Written by a physician/ scientist and heavily referenced to the peer-reviewed medical and scientific literature, the book is aimed at advanced students and academics but should be readable by any intelligent reader willing to carry out some side-reading. No prior knowledge of moral philosophy is assumed, as the various key approaches to moral philosophy are outlined early in the book.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of General Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA

    D. John Doyle

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement

  • Authors: D. John Doyle

  • Series Title: Anticipation Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94950-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-94949-9Published: 18 September 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-06942-1Published: 13 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-94950-5Published: 01 September 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2522-039X

  • Series E-ISSN: 2522-0403

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIII, 213

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Moral Philosophy, Computers and Society, Philosophy of Technology, Philosophy of Medicine

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access