Beyond Human
How Cutting-Edge Science Is Extending Our Lives
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- CHF 12.00
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- CHF 12.00
Beschreibung des Verlags
Never before in the history of medicine has mankind faced such hope and peril as those of us poised to embrace the radical medical technologies of today.
Eve Herold's Beyond Human examines the medical technologies taking shape at the nexus of computing, microelectronics, engineering, nanotechnology, cellular and gene therapies, and robotics. These technologies will dramatically transform our lives and allow us to live for hundreds of years. Yet, with these blessings come complicated practical and ethical issues, some of which we can predict, but many we cannot.
Beyond Human taps the minds of doctors, scientists, and engineers engaged in developing a host of new technologies while telling the stories of some of the patients courageously testing the radical new treatments about to come into the market.
Beyond Human asks the difficult questions of the scientists and bioethicists who seek to ensure that as our bodies and brains become ever more artificial, we hold onto our humanity. In this new world, will everyone have access to technological miracles, or will we end up living in a world of radical disparities? How will society accommodate life spans that extend into hundreds of years? Will we and our descendants be able to bring about the dream of a future liberated by technology, or will we end up merely serving the machines and devices that keep us healthy, smart, young, and alive?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Health and science writer Herold (Stem Cell Wars) highlights the current state of "converging technologies" in medicine. She recommends opening a "wider dialogue" among the public about the practical ethical questions that come with inevitable, rapidly approaching advances in implanted devices, artificial organs, "human enhancement," robotics, and life extension, rather than leaving the discussion in the hands of philosophical bioconservatives and radical transhumanists. Although full cyborgization has yet to arrive, devices already in use bring similar complicated issues to the fore. For instance, implantable cardioverter defibrillators can cause agonizing repeated shocks to a dying patient if not deactivated, but both doctors and patients are reluctant to talk about deactivation, likening it to an act of suicide. Herold warns that soon the public may be unable to address these questions "without the blinders of dependency" and she expresses concern over military research into particular enhancements, such as methods to allow people to stay awake for 168 hours, that could establish a "new normal." But even as Herold worries about the blurring of lines between treatment and enhancement, she is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of new technologies for improving quality of life.
