Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future

The day I finished reading "Citizen Cyborg" I met friends for a late dinner in an upscale Georgetown bistro. As a measure of the power of medical ethicist James Hughes' book, our dinner conversation revolved around the potential of babies free of genetic defects, the elimination of most of the diseases that now decimates our population, the potential of creating non-human sentient beings that might well have legal rights, and the possibility of near immortality. The domination of these issues among such an eclectic group of young Washingtonians is a measure of the book's saliency in the first part of the twenty-first century. I recommend "Citizen Cyborg" as an entertaining, challenging, and provocative exploration of the meaning of the post-human in modern American society. Part history, but especially an ethical perspective on the future, Hughes describes the efforts of those who seek to bring a future to humanity that offers the elimination of most diseases and enhances life through the use of drugs, careful eugenics, technological enhancement, and biotech innovations. The mapping of the human genome, according to Hughes, is just the beginning of a future in which human life might be radically improved. These possibilities also harbor questions and fears, as anything new and different has always done. Dubbing them "bioLuddites," Hughes suggests that those opposing these possibilities are organizing to ensure that the United States does not participate in the next fundamental transformation in human history. The biotech revolution has the potential, he believes, to be more significant than the Industrial Revolution that the United States embraced. The battle lines in this debate are already being drawn, and skirmishes over stem cell research, pharmaceuticals, cloning, and related innovations are already underway. These are nothing compared to future controversies, according to Hughes. What do we do once we are presented with cloned human beings? Are those individuals citizens of the United States? What rights do they have? What will prospective parents do once they have the capability through mastery of the human genome to ensure that birth defects are eliminated in their fetuses? What if they had the capability to select genes for greater intelligence for their fetuses? Would they do so? Should they be allowed to do so? These are only some of the coming challenges. The bioLuddites use arguments ranging from religion to Nazi eugenics to oppose any human intervention into these processes. Hughes takes a different approach. He argues that it is impossible to turn back these innovations and rather than trying we should seek to regulate and control them. He contends that the manner in which American society decides these challenges will chart the course for the future. He suggests that a faith in our democratic institutions is necessary here, and that through them we might reach decisions that will preserve human freedom and make possible a hope

"James Hughes has written a profoundly important book for anyone seriously seeking to understand the real ethical and religious issues, and possibilities, that confront humanity today. His voice, however, is one of reason and hope, as opposed to the politics and policies of fear that seem to have paralyzed the imagination of reactionary intellectuals of the right and the left who have dominated the discussion until now. Hughes is a true evolutionist, who recognizes that evolution is a continuing process, that the "cold, hard facts" of materialistic science and technology, are basically friendly, and that the fundamental liberal principles of liberty, equality, solidarity of persons, reason and progress are as just as real, and maybe even more important, today then at the time of the original enlightenment." - Rev. Peter H. Christiansen (First Unitarian Church Los Angeles 1969 - 1976)

New technologies are coming in the near future that have the potential to radically change what it means to be human. This book looks at why democratic societies must respond to things like cloning, genetic engineering and nanotechnology, instead of pretending that they don't exist. What the author calls "bio-Luddites" are opposed to such new technologies, because they feel that mankind should be happy with its 70 (or so) years of life, characterized by increasing bodily disfunction in its later stages. Another reason for opposition is the vague, but always there, possibility of a disaster unleashing some new plague on the world. Some people say that taboos and gut feelings are the path to wisdom. If a new technology feels spooky, ban it immediately. The Catholic Church opposes such things because they are supposedly offensive to God. On the other hand, if a person is found to be a carrier for, or genetically susceptible to, Disease X, don't they have the right to fix their DNA (assuming a safe and reliable method can be found to do so)? Those who call themselves transhumanists (based on humanism) believe that people should have the right to modify their bodies, whether the quest is for greater intelligence, longevity or a happier outlook on life. They are the first to assert that there must be adequate discussion beforehand, and adequate safeguards after the introduction of a new technology. Such things must also be available to all people, through some sort of universal health insurance, not just to the rich. Transhumanists have no desire to take over the world, but one of the subjects for social consideration has to be how to extinguish potential schisms between humans and posthumans. To those who think that some new regulatory agency is needed, the author does not agree. Agencies like the FDA and EPA will be able to do the job, if they ever get the funding and authority needed. Don't forget that 25 years ago, in vitro fertilization was considered an abomination; now it is practically mainstream. This is a pretty specialized book, but it shouldn't be. Like it or not, the new technologies described in this book are coming in the near future. It is better to start discussing, now, how to deal with them, instead of just saying No. The reader may not agree with everything in this book, but it is an excellent place to begin that discussion.

a revealing book about the future. technology had created mankind and civilization. but in the future technology is going to create human transformation into transhumanity. the author which is a leader in the formative transhumanism phenomena, reseaching the political and ethical implications of this transformation with a clear and convincing advocacy for democratic transhumanism. a must read book for anyone with open eyes for the future.

An amazing book. Hughes charts a bold vision for liberals and progressives to embrace the future. A must read for those who feel less than comfortable with the anti-tech left. This book shows that us tech progressives are not alone.