The Humanity of the Human Body: Is Homo Cybersapien a New Species?

Abstract

The importance of the human body within traditional bioethical debates is amplified within the field of technoethics as scholars attempt to grapple with conflicting views of what it means to be human and what attributes are core to human beings within the era of human enhancement technologies. A technoethical perspective of the human being is presented to highlight defining characteristics of humans within a technological society. Under this framework, symbolic capacity and technical ability are assumed to be grounded within the free and ethical nature of human beings. Ideas from Modernity and Postmodernity are used to demonstrate the need for a more encompassing view of humans which accommodates both its technical and ethical dimensions. The concepts of homotechnicus and cybersapien are introduced to help provide a more unitary vision of the human being and the priority of ethics over technics within this technological society.