Dr. Heidegger's Essays: The Ethics Of Redefining Humans

1155 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Scientific essay on Biotechnology research

The Ethics of Redefining Humans
Using science to modify humans, and better ourselves is becoming more of a reality every year. The term transhumanism can be defined as, a method to increase human’s physical and mental capacities using science (Koch, pg 686). It’s an idea that has been around for as long as humans. Humans will always strive to better themselves, and with new advances in technology and bioengineering this becomes more of a reality. The best examples are simple technologies like pacemakers, or prosthetics. They help people to live better. There are certainly more transhumanist technologies that will be developed to help the human race. However, there are many ethical issues related to transhumanism as well. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is a piece of literature written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It …show more content…

Dr. Heidegger finds the water of life, and uses it in an experiment. He questions what it means to be human, and how people might react if given the opportunity to make themselves younger. Transhumanism brings up many ethical issues. Dr. Heidegger’s experiment is a perfect example of the importance of those ethical considerations. For instance, what are the boundaries of human transformation, possible misuses, and discrimination for those who can’t afford it?
With the ability to change humans comes the potential to lengthen lives, dramatically alter the body, or increase mental capacity. The problem with a new concept like this, is that there is no way to police what happens. No way to control how much people are allowed to change themselves, or their future children. So, at what point have people gone too far? Or, at what point are we no longer human? Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment briefly touches this subject. After seeing that the elixir didn’t help his friends to be better people, the doctor comes to the conclusion that it is

Show More
Related

  • The Devil And Tom Walker's The Pit And The Pendulum

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heidegger’s Experiment” the characters are given back their youth. After drinking this special water and taking back a number of years, the people wanted to continue getting younger until they were merely young adults, just out of adolescence. When they were finally this young, they all rejoiced greatly, “They were a group of merry youngsters, almost maddened with the exuberant frolicsomeness of their years”. However, their new youth was short lived and they soon returned to their true age and bitterness they had in life. Instead of being thankful for the chance to experience their youth again, they got greedy and selfish over wanting to stay that way forever. If ever there was a time where greed did not deserve to be rewarded it would be this

    Read More

  • Loss Of Humanity In Frankenstein

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the history of mankind, the question of what it means to be a human being has been contemplated for centuries. Numerous philosophers have read and debated this significant question and it is still reflected upon today. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley plumbs the depth of this question with the example of a creature who is spurned by humanity despite being human in character. The discernment of creature from man is still misconstrued as shown in this tale, but its importance lies in the message Frankenstein that appearances matter very little when it comes to being human. The creature’s human qualities of its emotions, desire for companionship, and intelligence set it apart as uniquely human from simply a base and barbaric monster

    Read More

  • Comparing Three Nathaniel Hawthorne Stories

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates a fictional experiment that resists both God and natures intentions. Dr. Heidegger gathers a few old acquaintances who seem to be unhappy with their lives and they all wish to be young again. They also hope having their wisdom from over the years, will allow them not to make the same mistakes that resulted in their unhappiness. Since they were so desperate, they joined a unpromising experiment, which turned out to be an illusion. Once the old friends started hallucinating their youth, they began to act out as they would have a decade prior. As well as forgetting all of their insight, as the narrator explains, “The fresh gloss of the soul, so early lost, and without which the worlds successive scenes had been but a gallery of faded pictures, again threw its enchantment over all prospects”(6). Clearly god did not intend the experiment subjects to be given a second chance and painfully strips them of their young age once again, “The delirium which it created had effervesced away. Yes! they were old again. With a shuddering impulse, that showed her a woman still, the widow clasped her skinny hands before her face, and wished that the coffin-lid were over it, since it could be no longer beautiful”(8). The fatal outcome in this story was the hope the old people once had in science. Therefore proving science is incapable of defying God’s power.

    Read More

  • Dystopian Essay: What Makes Us Human?

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever wondered what it is exactly that makes us human? Is it the mistakes we make, or maybe our opposable thumbs? I believe there are many things that make us human, one of which includes our biological programming to die at some point in time. Death is something every human is aware of and every human embraces eventually. Philip K. Dick’s dystopian texts “The Electric Ant” and “A Little Something for Us Tempunauts” both use death as a means to illuminate that we are human; death reminds humans that we are not eternal. In these short stories, Dick speaks through the eyes of his protagonists who have been stripped of their humanity and describes the significance behind their individual choices to seek death.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.

    Read More

  • Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings by Julian Savulescu

    3287 Words  | 7 Pages

    The evolution of technology has been hand in hand with the human subjugation of earth, but the question persists, when does the use of technology go too far? Advances in medical science have increased the average human lifespan and improved the quality of life for individuals. Medical science and biology are steadily arriving at new ways to alter humans by the use of advanced genetic alteration. This technology gives rise to the question of how this new technology ought to be used, if at all. The idea of human enhancement is a very general topic, since humans are constantly “enhancing” themselves through the use of tools. In referring to human enhancement, I am referring specifically to the use of genetic intervention prior to birth. Julian Savulescu, in his, “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings,” argues that it is not only permissible to intervene genetically, but is a morally obligatory. In this paper, I will argue that it is not morally obligatory to intervene genetically even if such intervention may be permissible under certain criteria. I will show, in contrast to Savulescu’s view, that the moral obligation to intervene is not the same as the moral obligation to prevent and treat disease. In short, I will show that the ability of humans to intervene genetically is not sufficient to establish a moral obligation.

    Read More

  • Transhumanism: The Final Evolutionay Step

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Transhumanism or scientific human modification could be the single most important breakthrough in the history of mankind. The ability to enhance human intellect and change a human being both physically and or psychologically has been the goal of mankind since the dawn of time. The ramifications of allowing a human being to become god like could be catastrophic, but the goal of human evolution has always been to advance the human race in whatever way possible. Thanks to the ability of human beings to alter themselves through genetics, Nano-technology, and through the use of artificial intelligence they are at the onset of allowing themselves to live healthy lives possibly forever. Another of the benefits for trans-humanism is the possibility for human beings to improve the entire field of medicine through technology. Thirdly, the ability to allow something with super-human intelligence to control the outcome of humanity is always falsely viewed as a detriment to the human race.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry, and how this novel ties in with today’s world. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein expresses human nature specifically through the character of the “Creature” and its development. The Creature has an opportunity to explore his surroundings, and in doing so he learns that human nature is to run away from something so catastrophic in looks. The Creature discovers that he must limit himself in what he does due to the response of humans because of his deformities. I feel that Mary Shelley tries to depict human nature as running away from the abnormal, which results in alienation of the “abnormal.”

    Read More

  • Human Cyborg Essay

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    The great philosopher Aristotle believed that humans had a fixed nature and should not be tampered with, although the 19th century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre believed “existence precedes essence” which humans have their own freedom to choose to do what they wish. These two philosophical theories clash against one another about whether humans should alter our natural human nature and the issue of cyborgs. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary a cyborgs is defined as “a person whose body contains mechanical or electrical devices and whose abilities are greater than the abilities or normal humans. Due to the increase in technology, today we are able to create artificial chips, organs, implants and other “life-like” body parts which can greatly enhance humans’ lives. The ethical debate that we have today is whether it is morally right to artificially implant object in humans and create cyborgs.

    Read More

  • Genetic Engineering Argument Essay

    499 Words  | 1 Pages

    Transhumanist claim the individual can plan their own life. Transhumanist value autonomy: “Transhumanist place a high value on autonomy, the ability and right of individual to plan and choose their lives”(World Transhumanist Association). The right for an individual to “plan” their own life through genetic engineering is terrifying. Ethical people should not have the power to genetically enhance or themselves or others. Genetic enthusiasts may not use genetic engineering right. People genetically enhance themselves without any cause. Planning every single commodity in any person's life creates too much power. Great power corrupts the individual. Genetic engineering yields power that any person should not

    Read More

  • Ethics of Human Enhancement

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    The evolution of technology has been hand in hand with the human subjugation of earth, but the question persists, when does the use of technology go too far? Advances in medical science have tremendously improved the average human lifespan and the quality of life for individuals. Medical science and biology are steadily arriving at new ways to make humans superior by the use of advanced genetic alteration. This ability raises the question of how ought this new technology be used, if at all? The idea of human enhancement is a very general, since humans are constantly “enhancing” themselves through the use of tools. In referring to human enhancement, I am specifically referring to the use of genetic intervention prior to birth. Julian Savulescu in his, “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings” argues that it is not only permissible to intervene genetically, but is morally obligatory. In this paper I will argue that it is not morally obligatory to genetically intervene, but may be permissible under the criterion established by Savulescu. I plan to argue that the argument used by Savulescu for the obligation to genetically intervene is not the same obligation as the prevention and treatment of disease. The ability for humans to genetically intervene is not sufficient to provide a moral obligation.

    Read More

  • ethics of human genetic enhancement

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human genetic engineering has the power to take the human race ahead in the 21st century. With it, we will be able to enhance every aspect of our physical and mental existence. It is crucial that we make the right decisions now, with the needs and wants of future generations in consideration. Genetic enhancement is our next step to a better living experience for everyone, regardless of status. Creating a world where everyone is genetically enhanced and can function at a higher level will transform the future of the human race. After examining the true facts and reasons behind genetic enhancement, it is clear that the human race will benefit greatly. As such, it is important that normal civilians do not disregard these practices as foreign and taboo, but rather encourage scientists in their quest for the ultimate panacea.

    Read More

  • Unethical Experiments

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unethical experiments have occurred long before people considered it was wrong. The protagonist of the practice of human experimentation justify their views on the basis that such experiments yield results for the good of society that are unprocurable by other methods or means of study ( Vollmann 1448 ).The reasons for the experiments were to understand, prevent, and treat disease, and often there is not a substitute for a human subject. This is true for study of illnesses such as depression, delusional states that manifest themselves partly by altering human subjectivity, and impairing cognitive functioning. Concluding, some experiments have the tendency to destroy the lives of the humans that have been experimented on.

    Read More

  • Human Enhancement: Article Analysis

    201 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Ideas of Perfection and the Ethics of Human Enhancement” discusses human enhancement’s deeper issue - attainable perfection. Johann Roduit, Jan-Christoph Heilinger, and Holger Baumann investigate how human enhancements could affect the future image of an ideal human. They argue that that some base capabilities that are essential for an ideal unenhanced human being can be maximized harmoniously to adapt to an enhanced human being.This article is reliable because The American Journal of Bioethics published this article. However, it does have a bias towards bioliberalism: it argues for the use of human enhancement. The authors have written other articles regarding bioethics together and individually. The authors are all professors at a university

    Read More

  • Genetic Engineering Argumentative Essay

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    The University of Missouri (2016) argued that humans take great pride in things like beauty, endurance, intelligence, certain behaviors, or personality factors, and people for years have been trying to improve these characteristics through things like physical activity, diet, or even surgery so why should we not use genetics to make it easier. The University of Missouri (2016) goes so far as to ask the question of why should we not be able to give our children the best genetic advantage possible. This type of modification has been coined “transhumanist” or genetically enhanced humans (Trivino 2012). These arguments, to me, are from a naturalist worldview. The naturalist views humans as only able to get better and better with the flow of technological. That we have total and complete control in how we govern our bodies and if we want to genetically change, for example, our IQ level eleven points higher, we should be able to. Counter to this naturalistic view, I find the idea of “transhumanist” to be biblically and inherently wrong and not essential in preserving human life. The verses Psalms 139:14-16 (King James Bible, 2017) states that we are beautifully made by our Lord exactly as He intended. The verse Psalms 119:73 (King James Bible, 2017) explains how our Lord molded us in His hands and we are to carry out His commands. Both of these scriptures give insight into how we aren’t the masters of our lives and we cannot control our physical and mental states. We are not given the authority to change anything about our physical bodies or how we think. We are beings meant for the Lord and to worship

    Read More

More about Dr. Heidegger's Essays: The Ethics Of Redefining Humans

Open Document