Cyborgization of Actual Social Relations

This chapter depicts the essence of cyborgization of social relations in sports, art, music, traffic. This harkens back to the pioneering cybernetic work of Norbert Weiner and extends into the current and future reconfigurations of man-machine relations that are shaping human life and society from human enhancement to driverless cars. The chapter shows that procedures of scientific work cyborgize the historical reality of man into the era of scientific humanism as naturalism, and that it is not the future, but in fact the present, that we are acclimatizing to as we have not become fully aware of the present future.

Brain-Computer Interface

Launched in 2017 to widespread publicity due to the involvement of tech magnate and outspoken futurist Elon Musk, Neuralink Corp. aims to develop an advanced brain-computer interface (BCI) platform capable of assisting in the treatment of serious neurological conditions with longer-term goals of approaching transhumanism through nonmedical human enhancement to enable human-machine “symbiosis with artificial intelligence.” The first published description of a complete prototype Neuralink system, detailed by Muskin the company's only white paper to date, describes a closed-loop, invasive BCI architecture with an unprecedented magnitude of addressable electrodes. Invasive BCI systems require surgical implantation to allow for directly targeted capture and/or stimulation of neural spiking activity in functionally associated clusters of neurons beneath the surface of the cortex.

Hacking Human Beings

This chapter discusses the various areas of human enhancement application where such concerns arise, including physical (chip self-identification and payment, improving hearing with magnetic headphones, improving vision in the infrared spectrum, and use of chips for monitoring bodily functions), cognitive (deep brain stimulation, memory chips, manipulation of neurons and neural dust), and emotional level (mood-fixing, neuroprosthetics) and life-extending technologies (cyborg digital mind, cyborg digital body, cryonic preservation of the body).

The Ethics of Human Enhancement and Ferrando’s Philosophical Posthumanism

Francesca Ferrando's book Philosophical Posthumanism concentrates on some of the ethical issues connected with genetic alteration of the human species. In sympathy with her analysis, this brief article (commentary) elaborates on a parallel topic: the ethical implications of current projects to modify humans and their society with digital emerging technology.

The Hidden Religious Dimension of Posthumanism

Since the end of the twentieht century, the intellectual movements of trans- and post-humanism have gained growing awarness in the humanities and social sciences, but also in a broader public. As Francesca Ferrando makes very clear in her brilliant and thought provoking introduction to Philosophical Posthumanism, both currents are connected in many ways but should nevertheless be sharply distinguished from each other: Whereas transhumanism develops visions of human enhancement via technology, posthumanism ismuch more a critical enterprise which reflects on problematic an thropocentrisms in all domains of natural and social life. As such, according to the first sentence of Ferrando’s book, “Posthumanism is the philosophy of our time” (Ferrando, 2019a, 1). A great deal of posthumanism’s attractivity is probably due to its astonishing unifying force. Many important critical movements and theoretical approaches who used to be practiced separatedly from each other seem to converge in philosophical posthumanism.

儒家為什麼反對超人類主義？

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. The concept of human enhancement is a key to understanding transhumanism. According to Confucian ethics, the supervision of human enhancement technology is vital because we are facing the reasonable expectation of achieving “the unity of heaven and man.” (The idea of harmony between man and nature is not exclusive to Confucianism; it can be found in other schools of thought in the pre-Qin dynasty period, especially the philosophy of Taoism. However, the idea is uniquely expressed and developed in Confucianism.) Furthermore, human enhancement makes people unable to “settle in their place.” Therefore, Confucianism cannot accept it.

態度、原則與方法：儒家對後人類未來監管可能的貢獻

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. Human beings are facing problems entailed by the development and application of human enhancement technology. Confucianism and transhumanism respond to these problems in fundamentally different ways. Confucianism calls for a “careful attitude”, makes use of an “adaptable method”, and bases on the principle that technology is a tool for human continuity and development. Such an attitude, principle and method may represent the contribution of Confucianism to our supervision of Posthuman future.

“超人類主義”是主體形而上學的新形式

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. Transhumanism is a contemporary form of Western “subject metaphysics” that combines the dual elements of Cartesianism and Nietzsche's “metaphysics of will.” The essence of Eros is the human desire for totality, which is interlinked with the secret desire for today's “human enhancement” technology. The Confucian idea of “the unity of heaven and man”（天人合一）can solve many problems in the debate between biological conservatism and bioprogressivism. The ideological foundation of this idea in Laozi's and Zhuangzi's thought should be taken seriously. Recognition of human limitations is an important aspect of traditional Confucian—Taoist wisdom, but human enhancement technology is in essence a tool for “excessive reduction”.

Enhancing Autonomy, Authenticity And Selecting The Child With The Best Moral Life

In the human enhancement literature, there is a recurrent fear that biomedical technologies will negatively impact the autonomy and authenticity of moral agents, even when the agents would end up having better capacities and an improved life with the aid of these technologies. I will explore several ways in which biomedical enhancement may improve the autonomy of moral agents and try to show that biomedical methods are, all things considered, beneficial to our autonomy and authenticity. I will argue that there are instances when it’s desirable to limit the autonomy of moral agents and that strict regulations are to be put in place if a great number of people will have easy access to powerful, genetic-altering technologies which can impact the life of future children. I will advocate for using assisted reproductive technologies in order to select the child with the best chance of the best moral life and in doing so I will analyse several procreative principles which have been proposed by different scholars in the genetic enhancement debate and try to determine which one would be best to adhere to. Usually, people place high value on the concept of autonomy and there are many cases in which they end up overestimating autonomy in relation to other moral values. While autonomy is important, it’s also important to know how to limit it when reasonable societal norms require it. Sometimes autonomy is defined in strong connection with the concept of authenticity, in the sense that it’s not sufficient for our choices to be autonomous if they are not also authentic. I will try to defend the idea that authenticity can be enhanced as well with the aid of enhancement technologies which can actually prove beneficial in our quest to improve our own self.