Untangling the Debate: The Ethics of Human Enhancement

Human enhancement, in which nanotechnology is expected to play a major role, continues to be a highly contentious ethical debate, with experts on both sides calling it the single most important issue facing science and society in this brave, new century. This paper is a broad introduction to the symposium herein that explores a range of perspectives related to that debate. We will discuss what human enhancement is and its apparent contrast to therapy; and we will begin to tease apart the myriad intertwined issues that arise in the debate: (1) freedom & autonomy, (2) health & safety, (3) fairness & equity, (4) societal disruption, and (5) human dignity. P. Lin Dept. of Philosophy, California Polytechnic State Univ., San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA P. Lin (*) Dept. of Philosophy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA e-mail: [email protected] F. Allhoff Dept. of Philosophy, Western Michigan Univ., 3004 Moore Hall, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA e-mail: [email protected] F. Allhoff Centre for Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics, The Australian National University, LPO Box 8260, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia e-mail: [email protected]