Brain enhancements are not a new way to improve one 's current set of skills and abilities. When brought to light, the topic can be apropos with negative attitude and even seen as a poor action towards progress of human nature. This is due to the many ethical issues and repercussions that are introduced surrounding brain enhancement; with disregard for the advantages present. However, despite the ethical issues surrounding brain enhancements and the possible repercussions due to use, brain enhancements are not only safe to use with positive results for treatments and common problems, they also would not negatively affect society. Actually neuroenhancements can even be seen alongside virtue and are just the next step in human evolution.
Brain
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The claim that society should stick with the status quo can be based on a religious sensibility, the idea that humans literally risk offending God if they overstep their mandate here on Earth,” (Bostrom Nick 327). Brain enhancements give humans more control of their lives, which is translated as overstepping boundaries and stretching into God’s domain of transforming life when examined in a religious light. This disrupts the religious side of morality since it can be seen as disrupting life. Changing one’s characteristics and abilities by human means can be viewed as doing God’s work in his stead, molding oneself to one’s own ideals of perfection despite already being made accordingly. The second part about further separation is also touched upon by Nick Bostrom, “Concern has been voiced that cognitive enhancements might exacerbate social inequality by adding to the advantages of elites… To assess this concern one would have to consider whether future cognitive enhancements would be expensive (like good schools) or cheap (like caffeine)... …show more content…
As Chatterjee argues, “Virtually all medications have potential side effects that range from minor inconveniences to severe disability or death. In healthy states any risk seems harder to accept because the alternative is normal health,” (Chatterjee 970). Depending on the state of the voice behind the opinion, it is possible for enhancements to seem more dangerous. In the case where the patient is already in their best state, these enhancements might seem like the worse choice compared to their current health despite not necessarily being any more dangerous. In fact, as time passes, the outlook on medication and the “incentive to develop new and safer treatments increases, meaning that newer medications will continue to be safer” (Chatterjee 970). Eventually the need to worry about safety will be so minimal that there won’t be much of an issue. Also, even if technologies reach a point of danger where the need to protect individuals arises, “the well-informed individual might circumvent this issue freely and knowingly consenting to any risks that may come up, removing the reason to restrict the use,” (Allhoff 17). Overall, the worry about safety can be dismissed from such a large worry since they are continually getting safer and in the end, it is the choice of the patient on whether or not they want to go along with the procedure since
The vignette described a woman who comes in for a session in an agitated state. The psychologist has worked with her for a few weeks and she was not overtly suicidal or homicidal. On this visit, the psychologist decided to refer her to an inpatient due to her becoming unreliable and taking 17mg of Xanax in 30 hours instead of 2.5mg prior to her appointment.The decision making process for this vignette is very important because of the dilemma involved. The ethical decisions-making process I am going to engage in will be the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologist and the decision- making process that accompanies it.
Human characteristics have evolved all throughout history and have been manipulated on a global scale through the use of science and technology. Genetic modification is one such process in which contemporary biotechnology techniques are employed to develop specific human characteristics. Despite this, there are a countless number of negative issues related with genetic modification including discrimination, ethical issues and corruption. Hence, genetic modification should not be used to enhance human characteristics.
Abortion has been a political, social, and personal topic for many years now. The woman’s right to choose has become a law that is still debated, argued and fought over, even though it has been passed. This paper will examine a specific example where abortion is encouraged, identify the Christian world views beliefs and resolution as well as the consequences of such, and compare them with another option.
World Transhumanist Association. "Genetic Enhancement Can Improve Humanity."Genetic Engineering. Ed. James D. Torr. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The Transhumanism FAQ." 2003. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.
...a way is committing suicide of yourself as an individual. Being an individual starts at birth when you are no longer attached to your mother by an umbilical cord. The scientific breakthroughs with genetic engineering have created lives and have showed signs of hope for many people out there in this great big world. This essay may be considered a form of brain washing to persuade you as a reader to believe that my way of thinking is right and that all of these breakthroughs in science are great and brain washing is bad, but that’s not at all what I’m trying to do. You as a reader should believe what you want without my opinions affecting yours. Extreme persuasion is brain washing, and if I brain washed you as a reader to believe that my views are right or if I have changed your views on these topics, then I have created a perfect example of how brain washing works.
In “Brain Enhancement is Wrong, Right?” the point being conveyed is that using stimulants to enhance performance should not be used because stimulants are unethical. The author intends to reach out to researchers, professors, and college students as the predominant demographic. The usage of drugs to enhance abilities occurs during time when individuals have stressful tasks a head of them. The use of the stimulants depends on when the person needs to focus. Benedict Carey targeted individuals in the academic field because those are the people who are using stimulants to amplify their abilities.
Ethical issues are “moral challenges” facing the health care profession (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 127). Ethical issues is a major concern in the healthcare field because healthcare providers observe ethical issues every day and have to make ethical decisions. Advance directives are written documents that addressed an individual’s medical care preferences. These documents usually take effect when patients no longer can make informed health care decisions for themselves. While these documents are helpful to loved ones and health care providers, there are a number of ethical considerations that can make the development and execution of advance directives difficult (Llama, 2014). This author is a geriatric nurse that recently observed an advance directive ethical issue in the clinical setting. The purpose of this paper is to outline the steps of ethical decision-making within the seven steps for the framework. This paper will also identify the facts of the case from the perspective of each person impacted by the situation and identify which ethical principles were involved in the situation.
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the moral principles and values that govern our behavior as human beings. It is important in the human experience that we are able to grasp the idea of our own ethical code in order to become the most sensible human beings. But in that process, can ethics be taught to us? Or later in a person’s life, can he or she teach ethics the way they learned it? It is a unique and challenging concept because it is difficult to attempt to answer that question objectively because everybody has his or her own sense of morality. And at the same time, another person could have a completely different set of morals. Depending on the state of the person’s life and how they have morally developed vary from one human
Using science to modify humans, and better ourselves is becoming more of a reality every year. The term transhumanism can be defined as, a method to increase human’s physical and mental capacities using science (Koch, pg 686). It’s an idea that has been around for as long as humans. Humans will always strive to better themselves, and with new advances in technology and bioengineering this becomes more of a reality. The best examples are simple technologies like pacemakers, or prosthetics. They help people to live better. There are certainly more transhumanist technologies that will be developed to help the human race. However, there are many ethical issues related to transhumanism as well. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is a piece of literature written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It
Human beings are confronted with numerous issues throughout his or her lifetime that would require him or her to examine the best action to take to avoid the damaging consequences. In most cases, individuals restrain his or her action to take into consideration the consequences that may lead to the right or wrong behavior. One’s ethical and moral standards are first learned at an early age from his or her culture, how he or she is raised, religious background, and social system. Scientifically, there are various ethical theories, such as the virtue theory, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism (Boylan, 2009). By understanding these theories one can compare, contrast and uncover the reasoning behind his or her ethical and moral standards.
Many ethical dilemmas are philosophical in nature, an ethical issue can be described as a problem with no clear resolution. In order to solve the issue or dilemma a consensus between the parties involved must be reached. There are several reasons to come to an agreement over an ethical dilemma, it is the basis for all aspects of personal and professional dealings. Each one of us is part of a civilized society and as such it is our responsibility to be rational, honest and loyal in our dealings with others. (Alakavuklar, 2012) states that individuals make decisions for different situations in business life involving various ethical dilemmas. Each time either consciously or unconsciously individuals may follow some ethical approaches
The evolution of technology has been hand in hand with the human subjugation of earth, but the question persists, when does the use of technology go too far? Advances in medical science have increased the average human lifespan and improved the quality of life for individuals. Medical science and biology are steadily arriving at new ways to alter humans by the use of advanced genetic alteration. This technology gives rise to the question of how this new technology ought to be used, if at all. The idea of human enhancement is a very general topic, since humans are constantly “enhancing” themselves through the use of tools. In referring to human enhancement, I am referring specifically to the use of genetic intervention prior to birth. Julian Savulescu, in his, “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings,” argues that it is not only permissible to intervene genetically, but is a morally obligatory. In this paper, I will argue that it is not morally obligatory to intervene genetically even if such intervention may be permissible under certain criteria. I will show, in contrast to Savulescu’s view, that the moral obligation to intervene is not the same as the moral obligation to prevent and treat disease. In short, I will show that the ability of humans to intervene genetically is not sufficient to establish a moral obligation.
Human genetic engineering has the power to take the human race ahead in the 21st century. With it, we will be able to enhance every aspect of our physical and mental existence. It is crucial that we make the right decisions now, with the needs and wants of future generations in consideration. Genetic enhancement is our next step to a better living experience for everyone, regardless of status. Creating a world where everyone is genetically enhanced and can function at a higher level will transform the future of the human race. After examining the true facts and reasons behind genetic enhancement, it is clear that the human race will benefit greatly. As such, it is important that normal civilians do not disregard these practices as foreign and taboo, but rather encourage scientists in their quest for the ultimate panacea.
Couch, D., Liamputtong, P., & Pitts, M. (2012). What are the real and perceived risks and
Scientists and the general population favor genetic engineering because of the effects it has for the future generation; the advanced technology has helped our society to freely perform any improvements. Genetic engineering is currently an effective yet dangerous way to make this statement tangible. Though it may sound easy and harmless to change one’s genetic code, the conflicts do not only involve the scientific possibilities but also the human morals and ethics. When the scientists first used mice to practice this experiment, they “improved learning and memory” but showed an “increased sensitivity to pain.” The experiment has proven that while the result are favorable, there is a low percentage of success rate. Therefore, scientists have concluded that the resources they currently own will not allow an approval from the society to continually code new genes. While coding a new set of genes for people may be a benefitting idea, some people oppose this idea.