Bayertz, Human Nature: How Normative Might It Be?, I. The Technological Contingency of Human Nature. II Difficulties with "Human Nature". II C

by Corry Shores
[Search Blog Here. Index-tags are found on the bottom of the left column.]

[Central Entry Directory]
[Posthumanism, Entry Directory]
[Bayertz' "Human Nature", Entry Directory]

[The following is summary.]

Kurt Bayertz

Human Nature: How Normative Might It Be?

II Difficulties with "Human Nature"

II. C Artificial by Nature

Bayertz offers his second reply to the objection that there is a difference between

1) humanity's initiating natural autonomous processes, such as conceiving a child, and

2) humanity's full technological control over alterations of our bodies.

Their objection adds a new distinction to the artificial/natural distinction: spontaneous vs intentional. This way, we can say that social institutions such as marriage have a spontaneous influence on the gene pool, but the genetic manipulation has an intentional influence.

We might first make another distinction between two kinds of human characteristics or capacities.

1) Those the human shares with other parts of nature.

2) Those that only the human possess and that distinguish him from nature.

Our distinguishing marks include our reasoning, speech, will, responsibility, and so forth. Often we use these traits to define human nature.

[Other entries in this series.]

Bayertz, Kurt. "Human Nature: How Normative Might It Be?" Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 2003 28(2):131-150.

Available online at:

http://jmp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/28/2/131