Adapting Ourselves, Instead of the Environment: An Inquiry into Human Enhancement for Function and Beyond

Abstract

Technology enables humans not only to adapt their environment to their needs but also to modify themselves. Means of Human Enhancement - embodied technologies to improve the human body's capabilities or to create a new one - are the designated means of adapting ourselves instead of the environment. The debate about these technologies is typically fought on ethical soil. However, alarmist, utopian, and science fiction scenarios distract from the fact that Human Enhancement is a historical and pervasive phenomenon incorporated into many everyday practices. In the vein of disentangling conceptual difficulties, we claim that means of Human Enhancement are either physiologically or psychologically embodied, rendering the merging with the human user their most defining aspect. To fulfill its purpose, an enhancement must pass the test-in-the-world, i.e., assisting with effective engagement with a dynamic world. Even if failing in this regard: Human Enhancement is the fundamental and semi-targeted process of changing the users relationship with the world through the physical or psychological embodiment of a hitherto external object and/or change of one's body. This can potentially change the notion of being human. Drawing on a rich body of theoretical and empirical literature, we aim to provide a nuanced analysis of the transformative nature of this phenomenon in close proximity to human practice. Stakeholders are invited to apply the theory presented here to interrogate their perspective on technology in general and Human Enhancement in particular.

Keywords: Embodiment; Ethics; Human Enhancement; Human-Technology Relationship; Material Engagement; Postphenomenology.

Fig. 1

Our proposed definition of Human Enhancement. Colors were added to represent the different aspects. Boxes provide more context. Human Enhancement is not solely about enhancing or creating specific abilities. It is a semi-targeted and fundamental effort to alter the user’s relationship with the world by physically and/or psychologically embodying previously external objects or changing the body. This transformation leads to the potential for novel and transformed experiences that recursively modify the human-environment relationship. Subsequently, the user’s being, influenced by the same relationship, can be transformed.

Fig. 2

Conceptual overlapping of terms discussed here (Ellipsoids are not for scale). E.g., Cognitive Enhancement is Human Enhancement aimed at improving cognitive abilities. Treatment refers to interventions aimed at ameliorating an adverse bodily or mental condition

Fig. 3

Overview of our approach