Technology is dominating our world. From Phones to Computers, we love it! But, are we ready for technology to be implanted into our bodies when there is not a big need? This is called Human Enhancement. Many sides support the idea of Human Enhancement and support that it is legal. They also say that it comes with positive effects. Others say that it is illegal, and has many negative effects.
Before one decides, he/she needs to first understand some Terminology. Human enhancement is the attempt to insert a permanent/temporary artificial object(s) to enhance/improve one’s abilities and make them “in-humane.” It is mostly done to people who need rehabilitated body parts; however it is also being available for people who want to make themselves more skilled and more improved than the Human Body can offer. The real question stands; Is this worth it, and we can see that it clearly isn´t.
One potential price that people could pay for real life human enhancement is numerous long term side effects, after the procedure was completed. In a video by D News, they discussed a study published in the Journal of American Medical Society – Psychiatry where 40 people were tested on a procedure in which they had results that were interesting. They were tested using the process of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. It is where that were on a test that they all took before and after the enhancement was placed. They suffered in the areas of Logic and Problem Solving. Also, other mental and physical changes were seen in behaviour and posture. In an article by Tommy Fielden, he writes that treatment can work for all people, but all of the people in the world don’t have the same brain. I agree with this. There are times where my brother, friend, or myself have used different thinking process. This leads me to the conclusion that our brains are different in some ways. These differences might cause the influence of Human Enhancement in our lives to have different effects on some people.
Human Enhancement poses a big risk for children. According to an article by Stanford University, “Respecting what we have (or have not) inherited from our parents does not in itself fulfill the need to decide which promises we would like to make to our children.” This suggests a few things. First off, the child might not like the way that they look or how the Enhancement turned out. Imagine having a body part that we don’t like. Also, that body part was not originally like that. That is very sad.
Another thing that could happen is that a person’s body may not comprehend the enhancement, and have bad effects. In an article by George Dvorsky he stated, “This raises significant questions, such as whether any form of self-regulation would be appropriate and whether there are circumstances where enhancements should be encouraged.” This suggests a few things. We will use our Muscular system as an example. If a person gets an enhancement on their leg, when they use their leg, they activate both the muscle, and the enhancement. The enhancement will make the muscle feel uncomfortable and violated. That will cause it to have problems.
Even with the many negatives that support Human Enhancement, it can be very beneficial when used in the right context. In a statement by the Special Olympics Organization, “Intellectual disabilities happen in all cultures, races and countries. The goal of Special Olympics is to reach out to the almost 200 million people in the world with ID. Through sports, our athletes are seeing themselves for their abilities, not disabilities.” This shows a few things. First of, having a disability can lead to a lack of confidence, a lack of passion, and an insecure mood. With the addition of human enhancements like a Prosthetic Arm can help reverse these feelings, and make a person feel more confident and better. It also can improve their ability and allow them to do the things, that they weren’t able to do at once.
That main idea that can be drawn from the previous paragraph is that Human Enhancement is good in certain cases. According to a paper by Nick Bostrom and Julian Savulescu; “Overall, in an assessment which seems to be supported by many of our authors, opines that given the enormous variation, moral generalizations about all enhancement processes and technologies are unwise, and they should instead be evaluated individually. Whether we should employ a particular enhancement depends on the reasons for and against that particular enhancement. Creating [super immunity] to all known biological and viral insults is very different from practicing sports doping; choosing the personality traits of our offspring through genetic selection is very different from taking a pill that temporarily boosts our ability to concentrate. On this line of reasoning, it is time to take a further step, from asking ‘‘Should we do it?’’ to analyzing the ‘‘it’’ and asking a number of much more specific questions about concrete actions and policy options related to particular enhancement issues within a given sociopolitical-cultural context.” Human Enhancement can be fine if used in the right manner, however if used for instances like “Sports Doping,” or for un-needed improvement can lead to loads of problems and issues for someone or something.
In conclusion, the problem with Human Enhancement is the risks that come with it. It may have a few positives, but with the wrong usage or an error in the process can lead to life threatening issues like organ failure, or even mental disliking. This all can eventually ruin a person’s life. In some cases when a Prosthetic Body Part is used as a need after an amputation, that will help a person. When a person uses Human Enhancement without a big need for things like “Sports Doping,” they will face many health problems. In this case, the Price outweighs the Progress, and proves that a normal person shouldn’t get Human Enhancement unless it is a big need for them. To answer the question, “Is it worth it?” One should ask, “Is is needed?”