Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
existence. It also entails acknowledging that we are creatures whose
history and prospects for survival are indelibly rooted in the circum-
stances of a blue planet that revolves around the Sun. Yes, it is possible
to rebel against fundamental conditions of this kind, for instance, by
seeking a vastly extended longevity or by rocketing away from Earth into
cold, inhospitable corners of the universe. But such attempts are haunted
by the question, Why would anyone want to take such steps other than
as an expression of sheer hubris?
It is perfectly true that our ways of being human in the modern world
are deeply connected to scientific knowledge and technological devices
of all kinds. As I proofread this paper, I am helplessly dependent on the
eyeglasses that help me see. But pondering this situation, does one
emphasize the glasses or the person viewing, the package of technical
equipment in the mix or the distinctive organism that puts it to use? The
penchant for placing the technical hardware before the human (and it
has come to that in much of contemporary thinking) is to my mind a
terrible blunder, the perfect operational definition of a condition long
feared in modern society—dehumanization.
One serious consequence of the move to abandon a vital concern for
humans and their condition and to search for more exotic, posthuman
ways of being is to remove the foundations on which some crucial moral
and political agreements can be sought—an appeal to our common
humanity. Thus, at the beginning of World War II, Franklin Delano Roo-
sevelt argued that the central issue in the conflict was not merely the
victory of the United States and its allies over the Fascists but the victory
of democracy and its “simple principles of common decency and human-
ity.” From this simple but persuasive standpoint, Roosevelt announced
that “the objective of smashing the militarism imposed by war lords
upon their enslaved peoples; the objective of liberating the subjugated
nations; the objective of establishing and securing freedom of speech,
freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear every-
where in the world.”
47
The creation of the United Nations after the war
and the affirmation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by
the UN General Assembly offered hope that the principles of “common
decency and humanity” might be realized. And while it is obvious that
practice has fallen far short of this idealistic affirmation, the concern for
a shared humanity and the desire to alleviate the suffering of one's fellow
