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Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future

AUTHOR Yambert, Karl; Hughes, James
PUBLISHER Basic Books (10/01/2004)
PRODUCT TYPE Paperback (Paperback)

Description
A provocative work by medical ethicist James Hughes, Citizen Cyborg argues that technologies pushing the boundaries of humanness can radically improve our quality of life if they are controlled democratically. Hughes challenges both the technophobia of Leon Kass and Francis Fukuyama and the unchecked enthusiasm of others for limitless human enhancement. He argues instead for a third way, "democratic transhumanism," by asking the question destined to become a fundamental issue of the twenty-first century: How can we use new cybernetic and biomedical technologies to make life better for everyone? These technologies hold great promise, but they also pose profound challenges to our health, our culture, and our liberal democratic political system. By allowing humans to become more than human - "posthuman" or "transhuman" - the new technologies will require new answers for the enduring issues of liberty and the common good. What limits should we place on the freedom of people to control their own bodies? Who should own genes and other living things? Which technologies should be mandatory, which voluntary, and which forbidden? For answers to these challenges, Citizen Cyborg proposes a radical return to a faith in the resilience of our democratic institutions.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780813341989
ISBN-10: 0813341981
Binding: Paperback or Softback (Trade Paperback (Us))
Content Language: English
More Product Details
Page Count: 320
Carton Quantity: 20
Product Dimensions: 5.98 x 0.77 x 9.15 inches
Weight: 1.03 pound(s)
Feature Codes: Bibliography, Index, Price on Product, Illustrated
Country of Origin: US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Computers | Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
Computers | Security - General
Dewey Decimal: 610
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004022971
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
A provocative work by medical ethicist James Hughes, Citizen Cyborg argues that technologies pushing the boundaries of humanness can radically improve our quality of life if they are controlled democratically. Hughes challenges both the technophobia of Leon Kass and Francis Fukuyama and the unchecked enthusiasm of others for limitless human enhancement. He argues instead for a third way, "democratic transhumanism," by asking the question destined to become a fundamental issue of the twenty-first century: How can we use new cybernetic and biomedical technologies to make life better for everyone? These technologies hold great promise, but they also pose profound challenges to our health, our culture, and our liberal democratic political system. By allowing humans to become more than human - "posthuman" or "transhuman" - the new technologies will require new answers for the enduring issues of liberty and the common good. What limits should we place on the freedom of people to control their own bodies? Who should own genes and other living things? Which technologies should be mandatory, which voluntary, and which forbidden? For answers to these challenges, Citizen Cyborg proposes a radical return to a faith in the resilience of our democratic institutions.
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Author: Hughes, James
JAMES HUGHES lives in Montreal and has worked as a senior administrator in social services for more than fifteen years. He is the founding president of the Montreal non-profit Youth Employment Services and served as director general of the Old Brewery Mission, Quebec s largest centre serving the homeless. He was the deputy minister of social development in New Brunswick from 2008 to 2011 and is now the president of the Graham Boeckh Foundation. He has published articles on social policy in Policy Options and Literary Review of Canada as well as a book, Early Intervention: How Canada s social programs can work better, save lives, and often save money.
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Paperback