Bayertz, Human Nature: How Normative Might It Be?, I. The Technological Contingency of Human Nature

by Corry Shores
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Kurt Bayertz

Human Nature: How Normative Might It Be?

I. The Technological Contingency of Human Nature

Recent technology is astounding. So much of nature we control. We transformed and harnessed nature around us. And we are changing the nature within us too. Operations alter our appearance and gender. Chemicals transform our bodily functions. Prosthetics replicate major organs. These technologies are advancing. Some predict the post-human body. We might wholly reconstruct humanity. There are two primary ways we might do so:

1) genetic manipulation, and

2) gradually replacing organs with "technological modules."

An extreme outcome is doubtful. But this much is certain: our ability to change our biological nature will be less dependent on our inherent biology. Scientific progress will give us the freedom to become the humans we want to be, not the humans we find ourselves to be. "In short: human nature will become technologically contingent." (132bc)

Most people welcome technologies that conserve life and health. But we might feel alarmed and threatened by the possibility of wholly reconstructing the humanity. Hence we ask if human nature has a moral status that would be violated by such radical changes. Habermas makes such a plea. Modern technology has been devastating external nature. Some respond by returning to a pre-modern concept of nature's inherent value. We see now that our internal nature is being violated. So we likewise might define human nature's inherent value.

We have already conceived such a value for humanity. Although, this sense for our value is often expressed in terms of our rights to change and manipulate external nature. But we do not thereby conclude we have this same right to change and manipulate our internal nature. Many laws suggest that we do not have the full right to destroy or mutilate our bodies.

We see that our nature is considered a given fact. This way we believe that we have an objective point of reference so to establish normative restrictions to biotechnological manipulations of human being. Today,

1) everything seems to be manipulable and technically unrestricted, and

2) our individual volition seems to have no restrictions.

So we see a need to establish a non-arbitrary limit to self-manipulation.

[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