Paperback / softback
January 3, 2000
9780878407804
English
272
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
.88 Pounds (US)
$32.95 USD, £22.50 GBP
v2.1 Reference

Enhancing Human Traits

Ethical and Social Implications

Edited by Erik Parens
In this volume, scholars from philosophy, sociology, history, theology, women's studies, and law explore the looming ethical and social implications of new biotechnologies that are rapidly making it possible to enhance an individual's mental and physical attributes in ways previously only imagined.

To clarify the issues, the contributors grapple with the central concept of "enhancement" and probe the uses and abuses of the term. Focusing in particular on the moral issues pertaining to cosmetic surgery and cosmetic psychopharmacology (a category which includes Prozac), they also examine notions of identity, authenticity, normality, and complicity. Other essays in this collection address the social ramifications of the new technologies, including the problems of access and fairness.

About the Author

Erik Parens is the associate for philosophical studies at The Hastings Center.

Reviews

"Are enhancement technologies a good thing? We regard self-development through education and exercise a virtue, almost a duty. Why not pursue these ends by means of enhancement technologies?...Enhancing Human Traits represents a landmark in the discussion of these thorny issues....I predict that this book will open a debate that will play a significant role in shaping our culture in the years to come."—Nature

"Coherently organized, Enhancing Human Traits provides a useful set of perspectives for framing ethical, social, and policy questions in what will continue to be a controversial area of medicine."—Choice

"A timely and important book....the essays in this volume represent cutting-edge work on an important topic for bioethics."—Bioethics

"Recommended to the increasing number of physicians who have a strong commitment to biomedical ethics."—New England Journal of Medicine

Georgetown University Press
Hastings Center Studies in Ethics

9780878407804 : enhancing-human-traits-parens
Paperback / softback
272 Pages
$32.95 USD

Other Titles by Erik Parens

Surgically Shaping Children

edited by Erik Parens
May 2006 - Johns Hopkins University Press
$30.00 USD - Electronic book text

Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights

edited by Erik Parens, Adrienne Asch
Sep 2000 - Georgetown University Press
$59.95 USD - Paperback / softback

Other Titles from Hastings Center Studies in Ethics

Accountability

edited by Virginia A. Sharpe
Oct 2004 - Georgetown University Press
$59.95 USD - Hardback
$59.95 USD - Electronic book text

The Ethics of Hospital Trustees

edited by Bruce Jennings, Bradford H. Gray, Virginia A. Sharpe, Alan R. Fleischman
Jun 2004 - Georgetown University Press
$59.95 USD - Hardback

The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

edited by Daniel Callahan
Jan 2004 - Georgetown University Press
$59.95 USD - Paperback / softback
$59.95 USD - Electronic book text

Other Titles in MEDICAL / Ethics

The Medical Carnivalesque

Lisa Gabbert
Aug 2024 - Indiana University Press
$75.00 USD - Hardback
$30.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Doing Dignity

Christa Teston
Jun 2024 - Johns Hopkins University Press
$54.95 USD - Hardback
$54.95 USD - Electronic book text

Pellegrino's Clinical Bioethics

Edmund D. Pellegrino. Edited by G. Kevin Donovan, David G. Miller, and Claudia Ruiz Sotomayor.
Feb 2024 - The Catholic University of America Press
$34.95 USD - Paperback / softback

Other Titles in Medical ethics & professional conduct

The Medical Carnivalesque

Lisa Gabbert
Aug 2024 - Indiana University Press
$75.00 USD - Hardback
$30.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Doing Dignity

Christa Teston
Jun 2024 - Johns Hopkins University Press
$54.95 USD - Hardback
$54.95 USD - Electronic book text

Pellegrino's Clinical Bioethics

Edmund D. Pellegrino. Edited by G. Kevin Donovan, David G. Miller, and Claudia Ruiz Sotomayor.
Feb 2024 - The Catholic University of America Press
$34.95 USD - Paperback / softback