Final Paper
In the book, Beyond Humanity, Allen Buchanan discusses the argument about biomedical enhancements. He states that there are two real sides to the argument. It is not between pro-enhancement and anti-enhancement, it is between anti-anti-enhancement and anti-enhancement (Buchanan, 2011.) What he really means by anti-anti-enhancement is that enhancements are sometimes permissible. Throughout the book he presents with why enhancement is good and why some people think it is bad. He stands with the anti-anti-enhancements argument and he explains why he thinks it is allowable. I happen to agree with him. I believe that we should allow for biomedical enhancements.
Throughout the book he explains how both sides support their argument.
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First, I believe that we should because we need to find a cure for diseases. By doing that we need to enhance our technologies to develop vaccines that prevent diseases or medication that cures the diseases. Another benefit of biomedical enhancements is just plain surgeries. We usually don’t think of everyday surgeries as enhancements but really they are. They fix what is broken and make humans function and feel overall better. For example, transplants are enhancements. Typical people who need a new heart and receive one are enhanced to live longer than they would have with their own heart. Living longer increases productivity and Buchanan explains that for every 1-year increase in life expectancy increase labor productivity by 4 …show more content…
This is false because just like everything else in the world some people are more privileged than others. This is what makes life, life. In the future there are four main advantages that enhancements will have. They will increase cognitive capabilities of human being (for example, increases in attention, alertness, the speed with which information is processed by the human brain, and improvements in memory), they will extend the duration of our lives, they will compress morbidity and disability near the end of life, and finally they will enhance the immune system (Buchanan, 2011.) Having competition between people is common human nature and enhancements would just make competition better. For athletes, if every athlete was permitted to use biomedical enhancements the playing field would be level again instead of them using it illegally when others do not use it. By using enhancements, sports as we know them would be out of this world. They would bring so much entertainment to our lives and only make our leisure and social lives better. Overall, our lives would be better by having better production, living healthier, living longer and being
Butryn believes, the challenge that is issued is whether an athlete 's ability has a dramatic change in his performance due to technology. I believe that technology should not give an athlete more ability than a regular athlete because at that point it becomes unfair to both competitors. Trivino states, “The sports practiced by athletes who have had organs or mechanical parts implanted and their desire to take part in regular athletic competitions puts sports authorities in an ethical and legal tight spot” (118). Trivino believes Authorities are put into an ethical and legal tight spot because there must be a line drawn. A line that clearly states what is and isn 't allowed to be able to take part in regular athletic competitions. I believe it becomes unfair and too much of an advantage for the athlete to use in competition. According to Trivino, “The cyberization of sport has occupied a role in medical and sport fields in recent years due to the fact that this issue calls into question the very foundations of contemporary sport,
Sandel explores the immoral nature of genetic enhancements through their potential use in athletics, creating “Bionic Athletes.” The world admires athletes for their expression of great skill in their resp...
Performance enhancing drugs affect so many people that don’t even realize it. Fans of the game, coaches, university leaders and of course athletes are the major groups of people that can be affected the most from the usage of performance enhancing drugs. Numerous studies have stated that an athletes drug use in sport could be credited to a complex interaction of personal and environmental factors (Judge). Athletes hold themselves to high standards for themselves or maybe even family members they must provide for. Athlete will do whatever it takes to strive in their sport because in most cases personal success can lead to better opportunities such as the National Football League or maybe even the National Basketball Association. Overall, individuals can be affected in a positive manner through the use of performance enhancing drugs. Furthermore, the use of performance enhancing can do nothing but help athletes. Also, some college athletes need performance enhancing drugs more than others. Not every athlete comes from a well provided family and knowing that can plaque athletes to where they’ll do whatever it takes to be successful. With this in mind it would totally be unfair if only one or a couple of athlete used enhancing drugs however if every athlete were granted the right to use performance enhancing drugs there
Overall, those are the benefits that a career in athletic training can be beneficial to society as well as one who pursues this career.
When it comes to athletes and their sport, drugs and genetic fixes diminish achievement. The more an athlete relies on drugs and genetic engineering, the more difficult it is to respect his/her achievements. Sandel presents a scenario. Imagine a robotic baseb...
Recent breakthroughs in the field of genetics and biotechnology have brought attention to the ethical issues surrounding human enhancement. While these breakthroughs have many positive aspects, such as the treatment and prevention of many debilitating diseases and extending human life expectancy well beyond its current limits, there are profound moral implications associated with the ability to manipulate our own nature. Michael Sandel’s “The Case Against Perfection” examines the ethical and moral issues associated with human enhancement while Nick Bostrom’s paper, “In Defense of Posthuman Dignity” compares the positions that transhumanists and bioconservatists take on the topic of human enhancement. The author’s opinions on the issue of human genetic enhancement stand in contrast to one another even though those opinions are based on very similar topics. The author’s views on human enhancement, the effect enhancement has on human nature, and the importance of dignity are the main issues discussed by Sandel and Bostrom and are the focus of this essay.
Society seems to be divided between the idea if science is more harmful than helpful. We live in a world where humans depend on science and technology to improve important aspects of society, such as medical machinery, which supports the fact that science is more of a friend than a foe. Science is advancing every day. The United States has come a long way with its ongoing developments, giving individuals a chance to improve society as a whole. Not only does the United States benefit from such growth, but every modernized country does so as well. Through science and technology, individuals learn from past endeavors and apply it to present and future projects, paving the way for new discoveries and efficient enhancements
As a final point, with the advances of using biomedical technology, scientists have the ability to cure cancer and prolong human life where they would’ve died if such advancements have not been made. The use of such technology should be used when the benefit outweighs the cost such as using it to benefit humanity and not just to choose if one’s child has blue eyes or brown eyes. I personally support the scientific breakthroughs that have been made over the recent years, yet, these advancements should only be used to cure/prevent diseases rather than to decide on one’s genes or to keep an elderly person on life support simply because it’s possible.
Mark Twain's The Damned Human Race. Within his essay The Damned Human Race, author Mark Twain powerfully declares that the human race is both flawed and corrupt, and that people actually should be classified as 'lower animals' rather than the formerly known 'higher animals'. Twain does not hold claim to a Darwinian or creation standpoint, but rather draws conclusions from his own observations in performed experiments. He states that'man is the cruel animal,' and that we can attribute this to his moral character.
In order to fully understand the uses of human enhancement and biotechnology, one must first decipher their purposes. Human enhancement is typically referred to as improving the overall functioning of a human being, both physical and mental. Biotechnology is a process that often results in human enhancement and is often achieved through genetic manipulation, nanotechnology, and cybernetics. Because of their power to completely change the human race, there is a a very fine line when it comes to the proper use of such technological advances. A key point is the difference between this technology’s use for therapeutic purposes as opposed to the
In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.
...es. Though technology has gotten humanity far, there is still a lot more information to be discovered. Without medical technology, many people would have died of diseases because of inadequate treatment. Therefore, technology has been a friend of humankind and will continue to be even a greater friend in the future.
Human enhancement is any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means. It is in our human nature that we somehow increase our life expectancy, become stronger, fearless, independent and smarter. It is no surprise we turn to all sorts of technologies – neurotechnology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology – to improve human performances. While they might improve our performances and abilities, their use raises serious health, ethical and economic issues, furthermore, not enough is known about the long-term consequences.
Secondly, performance-enhancement impacts the future generation of upcoming athletes. Professional athletes are role models to many world-wide. They are a symbol of inspiration and motivation to young athletes. Upcoming professionals look up to their determination and love of fair and true sportsmanship in successful athletes. Allowing performance enhancing drugs in ...
The procedures that will be the future of modern medicine currently fall into the realms of taboo and fictional. These procedures encompass every aspect of medical science, from exploration of the human body, curing diseases, to improving a person’s quality of life. Many of these procedures are not very well known, while a few have been in the spotlight. These procedures include cloning, nano-robotics, retro-viruses, and genetic manipulation via gene-specific medications. For any serious breakthroughs in modern medical science, we must embrace these new forms of treatment instead of shying away from them. Second, I’ll attempt to explain how these methods and procedures could benefit mankind.