1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300618903321

Autore

Doyle D. John (Daniel John), <1951->

Titolo

What does it mean to be human? life, death, personhood and the transhumanist movement / / by D. John Doyle

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing, , 2018

ISBN

3-319-94950-0

9783319949505

Edizione

[1st ed. 2018.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xxiii, 213 pages)

Collana

Anticipation Science, , 2522-039X ; ; 3

Classificazione

28.24.16

Disciplina

363.75

Soggetti

Ethics

Computers and civilization

Philosophy

Medicine—Philosophy

Moral Philosophy

Computers and Society

Philosophy of Technology

Philosophy of Medicine

bio-ethics

medical research

philosophy of science

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Biomedical Ethics -- Chapter 3. Humans, Transhumans and Humanoids -- Chapter 4. Pharmacologic Enhancement: Possibilities and Perils -- Chapter 5. Life, Death, and Brain Death -- Chapter 6. Cryonic Life Extension: Scientific Possibility or Stupid Pipe Dream? -- Chapter 7. Defending Attacks Against Transhumanism -- Chapter 8. Conclusions. Appendix.

Sommario/riassunto

This book is a critical examination of the philosophical and moral issues in relation to human enhancement and the various related medical developments that are now rapidly moving from the laboratory into the clinical realm. In the book, the author critically examines technologies such as genetic engineering, neural implants,



pharmacologic enhancement, and cryonic suspension from transhumanist and bioconservative positions, focusing primarily on moral issues and what it means to be a human in a setting where technological interventions sometimes impact strongly on our humanity. The author also introduces the notion that death is a process rather than an event, as well as identifies philosophical and clinical limitations in the contemporary determination of brain death as a precursor to organ procurement for transplantation. The discussion on what exactly it means to be dead is later applied to explore philosophical and clinical issues germane to the cryonics movement. Written by a physician/ scientist and heavily referenced to the peer-reviewed medical and scientific literature, the book is aimed at advanced students and academics but should be readable by any intelligent reader willing to carry out some side-reading. No prior knowledge of moral philosophy is assumed, as the various key approaches to moral philosophy are outlined early in the book.