The enhanced human vs. the virtuous human: a post-phenomenological perspective
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The enhanced human vs. the virtuous human: a post‑phenomenological perspective Vahid Taebnia1 · Mostafa Taqavi1 Received: 29 June 2020 / Accepted: 29 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The new generations of bioenhancement technologies and traditional Virtue Theory both try to make a meaningful connection between the improvement of human states and characteristics on one hand, and attainment to the good life, on the other. Considering the main elements of virtuousness in Farabi’s thought—namely rational inquiry and deliberative insights, alongside volitional discipline within various social contexts, one can conclude that although the trajectories of enhancement technologies—be they in the field of genetic engineering, neurostimulation technologies, or pharmacology—do not in themselves satisfy the constitutive determinants of virtuousness, they function as having both mediative and amplificative/ reductive roles in a life which is dedicated to the pursuit of happiness in the light of the cultivation of virtue. Keywords Technological bio-enhancement · Virtue theory · Farabi · Postphenomenology · Mediation theory of technology
1 Introduction In Virtue Theory, there is a strong correlation between livinga good life, and the bourgeoning of one’s aptitudes and the attainment of one’s perfections. In recent decades, a paradigm shift has occurred from ‘world-engineering’ to ‘human-engineering’ as a consequence of scientific advances in fields such as cognitive science, neurology, genetics, and pharmacology, etc. Transhumanism is a philosophy which s ees the pursuit of human excellence as being effected through science and technology. Like Virtue Theory, transhumanism approaches the betterment of life by way of the enhancement of the human condition. For example, if humans suffer from shortcomings such as aggression or avarice, it is possible, given c ontinuedtechnological achievements, to envisage a future where human beings would be designed to be less violent a nd less greedy. On the other hand, transhumanism and Virtue Theory differ in terms of the means of attaining human excellence. Moral training, education, mental and practical discipline, self-cultivation, * Mostafa Taqavi [email protected] Vahid Taebnia [email protected] 1
Department of Philosophy of Science, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
and volitional habituation are essential for the pursuit of virtue; whereas in the enhancement approach, the improvement of the human condition is pursued by means of technological manipulations and shortcuts; here we are talking about people who gain access to information through neural implants, who use drugs to enhance their memories, and use neurostimulation technologies for attaining to moral virtues such as altruism and selfless love. In the t raditionalaccount of the pursuit of virtue, human development and self-transcendence are mainly conceptualized without regard to the possibility of reducing one’s innate states, ch
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