#13 The ethics of human enhancement

I spoke with Susan Hall about the ethics of human enhancement. Activities such as physical fitness routines and taking music lessons do not seem to raise any philosophical problems. However, a current example that elicits debate is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, his neural technology company that is developing an implant designed to interface directly with the human brain. Our discussion covered the types of enhancements that are considered in the philosophical debates and the various arguments that arise.

Dr Susan Hall is a lecturer in the Philosophy Department and Centre for Applied Ethics at Stellenbosch University. She completed her PhD dissertation, “Harm and Enhancement: Philosophical and Ethical Perspectives” in 2012, and her research interests include Bioethics and the ethics of technology. She is currently working on the ethics of biotechnological human enhancement and bioethical issues related to the participation of intersex athletes in sporting competition.

Further reading:

• The Stanford Encyclopaedia entry on human enhancement provides a useful overview of the debate: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enhancement/
• Buchanan, A.  2008.  Enhancement and the Ethics of Development.  Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 18 (1): 1-34. (Summarises some of the central arguments that appear in his book below.)
• Buchanan, A., 2011. Beyond Humanity?: The Ethics of Biomedical Enhancement, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
• Harris, J.  2007.  Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Kass, L. 1997. “The Wisdom of Repugnance”, New Republic, 216(22): 17–26.
• Sandel, M.  2004.  The Case Against Perfection: What’s Wrong with Designer Children, Bionic Athletes, and Genetic Engineering. The Atlantic Monthly, 293 (3): 51-62, available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/, and his later book (2007),  The Case Against Perfection.  Cambridge & London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
• Earp, B.D. & Savulescu, J. 2020. Love is the Drug: The Chemical Future of Our Relationships. Manchester: Manchester University Press.