The better human, the better than human: Limits of enhancement

pages: 124-144

Abstract

Using the representations of science, fiction and science fiction, this article attempts to sketch out a certain line of development in the history of representation of the enhanced human. First it was thought that chemicals could temporarily or permanently improve his natural abilities, then artificial substitutes, inserts and accessories dominated the vision of his improvement. The most recent possibility announced is the fundamental morphological transformation of his biological composition into a completely unrecognizable, amorphous “entity” capable of taking any form. This trajectory of “improvement” of human capacities could be regarded as a gradual advancement in the realization of the pledge of traditional humanism: that man is special precisely for being able to become anything he chooses. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 41004: Retke bolesti: molekularna patofiziologija, dijagnostički i terapijski modaliteti i socijalni, etički i pravni aspekti] Keywords: human enhancement, humanism, transhumanism, posthumanism, cyborg, metamorph