UOW Philosophy is very pleased to have Dr. Robert Sparrow (Monash) visiting on Wednesday, October 12th, to present a paper at our Research Seminar series. All are welcome to attend.
Title: Enhancement and Obsolescence: Avoiding an "Enhanced Rat Race" When and where: Wednesday, October 12th, 4:30-6:30 in 19.1003 Abstract: An increasing number of philosophers are now taking seriously the possibility that in the not-too-distant future it will become possible to enhance human beings in various ways, making them stronger, faster, more intelligent, longer lived, and perhaps even “post-human”. A claim about continuing technological progress plays an essential role in this literature. Advocates for enhancement typically point to the rapid progress being made in the development of biotechnologies, information technology, and nanotechnology as evidence that we will soon be able to achieve significant improvements on normal human capacities through applications of these technologies. In this paper, I will argue that – should it eventuate – continuous improvement in enhancement technologies may prove more bane than benefit. A rapid increase in the power of available enhancements would mean that each cohort of enhanced individuals will find itself in danger of being outcompeted by the next in competition for important social goods – a situation I characterise as an “enhanced rat race”. Rather than risk the chance of being rendered technologically and socially obsolete by the time one is twenty-five, it may be rational to prefer that a wide range of enhancements that would generate positional disadvantages that outweigh their absolute advantages be prohibited altogether. The danger of an enhanced rat race therefore constitutes a novel argument in favour of abandoning the pursuit of certain sorts of enhancements. Dr. Robert Sparrow is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, at the University of Sydney. _______________________________________________ SydPhil mailing list: http://sydphil.info 1000+ subscribers now served!! To UNSUBSCRIBE, change your MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS, find ANSWERS TO COMMON PROBLEMS, or visit our ONLINE ARCHIVES, please go to the LIST INFORMATION PAGE: http://sydphil.info
