Redesigning Humans in the Nano-Age

Abstract

The blurring boundaries between therapy and human enhancement raise a lot of ethical questions that need to be addressed. Therapy is healing and restoring the sick to health; enhancement is improving the normal functioning of the body. With nanomedicine, the boundary becomes even hazier. Nanomedicine refers to the application of nanotechnology to the prevention and treatment of diseases. The European Science Foundation defines it as the science and technology of diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease and traumatic injury, relieving pain, and preserving and improving human health using molecular tools and knowledge of the human body (ESF, 2005). While nanomedicine delivers numerous and unprecedented benefits to the health and general well-being of individuals, nano- enabled human enhancement technologies will be the gateway to the transhumanist vision of immortality. Transhumanism contends that through the advancements in science and technology, we can overcome our physical and cognitive limitations, extend human lifespan, and attain perpetual existence. The blurring boundaries between enhancement will have remarkable consequences on what it means to be a human being. The study will make use of New and Emerging Science and Technology (NEST) Ethics as a framework for addressing dichotomous approaches and polarizing perspectives on human enhancement.