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How Human Nature Can Inform Human Enhancement: a Commentary on Tim Lewens's Human Nature: the Very Idea

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Abstract

In this commentary on Lewens (2012), I argue that although his criticisms of Machery's (2008) conception of human nature are sound, I disagree with his conclusion that human nature cannot inform us regarding issues of human enhancement. I introduce a framework for understanding human nature, the “life history trait cluster account,” which aligns the concept of human nature with the human sciences and allows human nature to inform questions of human enhancement.

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Notes

  1. I thank Russell Powell for this attempt at a reductio.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Grant Ramsey

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  1. Grant Ramsey
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Correspondence to Grant Ramsey.

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Ramsey, G. How Human Nature Can Inform Human Enhancement: a Commentary on Tim Lewens's Human Nature: the Very Idea . Philos. Technol. 25, 479–483 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-012-0087-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-012-0087-2

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