Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
military developments that have gone into the making of what he calls
“the megamachine.” Trying to anticipate the future trajectory of a system
that had given the world Hiroshima, the Apollo program, and the
Vietnam War, Mumford observes, “On the terms imposed by techno-
cratic society, there is no hope for mankind except by 'going with' its
plans for accelerated technological progress, even though man's vital
organs will all be cannibalized in order to prolong the megamachine's
meaningless existence.”
2
In light of these bleak, seemingly overwrought warnings from decades
ago, it is astonishing to see that in our time, the nightmare of the philoso-
phers is now widely embraced as a fascinating, plausible, desirable, and
perhaps even necessary project in biotechnology and information tech-
nology. For many of our contemporaries, the “abolition of the human”
is no longer regarded as a distasteful possibility, much less a manifesta-
tion of evil. As the new millennium begins, projects in this genre—vari-
ously called posthuman, metahuman, transhuman, ultrahuman, or
cyborg—are widely cherished as a marvelous intellectual challenge, a
path to future profits, an opportunity for artistic fulfillment, and an occa-
sion for exquisite personal transcendence. Although sentiments of this
kind are increasingly common in writings about science, technology, and
humanity, they remain minority views among intellectuals and within the
world's populace. Nevertheless, they may signal the emergence of a
climate of opinion that could influence policy choices in years to come.
This climate, much like a weather front moving in from the west, stands
in contrast to the elaborate, detailed arguments about the ethics of
biotechnology and other policy debates about possible modifications to
the human species. Yet it may be that a shift in the overall climate of
prevailing views, a long-term change in the weather of beliefs, will prove
more decisive than the outcome of particular debates in moral philoso-
phy and public policy.
Scientific Enthusiasts of Posthumanism
One does not have to look far to find statements by those who are either
engaged in speculation about prospects for the creation of posthumans
or who propose programs of research to advance the cause. A number
of prominent scientists and publicists for science are willing to lend their
