Visions and Ethics in Current Discourse on Human Enhancement

Arianna Ferrari; Christopher Coenen; Armin Grunwald

doi:10.1007/s11569-012-0155-1

NanoEthics

December 2012, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp 215–229

Visions and Ethics in Current Discourse on Human Enhancement

Authors
Authors and affiliations

Arianna FerrariEmail author
Christopher Coenen
Armin Grunwald

Original Paper

First Online:: 20 September 2012

Received:: 16 May 2012
Accepted:: 12 September 2012

DOI: 10.1007/s11569-012-0155-1

Cite this article as:: Ferrari, A., Coenen, C. & Grunwald, A. Nanoethics (2012) 6: 215. doi:10.1007/s11569-012-0155-1

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Abstract

Since it is now broadly acknowledged that ethics should receive early consideration in discourse on emerging technologies, ethical debates tend to flourish even while new fields of technology are still in their infancy. Such debates often liberally mix existing applications with technologies in the pipeline and far-reaching visions. This paper analyses the problems associated with this use of ethics as “preparatory” research, taking discourse on human enhancement in general and on pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement in particular as an example. The paper will outline and discuss the gap between the scientific and technological state of the art and the ethical debates, pointing out epistemic problems in this context. Furthermore, it will discuss the future role of genuine ethical reflection in discourse on human enhancement, arguing also that such discourse needs to include a technology assessment—in the broad sense of the term—which encompasses, inter alia, anthropological perspectives and aspects of social theory.

Keywords

VisionsHuman enhancementEthicsSpeculative ethicsPharmaceutical cognitive enhancement

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Authors and Affiliations

Arianna Ferrari
- 1
Email author
Christopher Coenen
- 1
Armin Grunwald
- 1

1.Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)Institute for Technology Assessment and System Analysis (ITAS)KarlsruheGermany

Visions and Ethics in Current Discourse on Human Enhancement

Abstract

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