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Abstract
Neuro-enhancement and “posthumanity”: Some ethical challenges
There is a growing interest among healthy individuals to use psychotropic drugs
and brain stimulation devices to improve cognition, behavioral functioning and
performances. Although neuro-enhancement in healthy individuals is not new,
this new technology raises many important ethical questions for instance about
possible misuse, effects it may have on individual perception, and whether it may
benefit more affluent people and thus facilitate further inequality within societies.
In this paper the focus is on these questions and also more fundamental questions
about the interplay between neuro-enhancement and the society we live in. Why
should we want to take drugs to enhance our working performances? Why do
some people argue that we need post-humanity or enhanced mankind? Instead
of focusing on individuals and the importance of improving their performance in
the society we should ask whether there is something wrong with the society or
the environment we have created which makes it impossible to meet the criteria
of satisfactory performances.
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