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Title: Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0312421710 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.74
Rating: 5
Summary: You may drive out nature with a pitchfork,
Comment: ...When Fukuyama, in his latest book, published a few months ago, takes to task large segments of the scientifical and bioethical community, we should pay attention, for he is rarely misinformed and never less than cogent in his analyses. The author's main point is that human nature, and the social and political institutions built on it (such as democracy, the rule of law and the capitalist market), is at risk from changes in biotechnology, such as neuropharmacology (drugs capable of altering human behaviour in radical ways), or longevity-enhancement treatments, or genetical manipulation of the unborn. He makes a brave attempt at showing that the concept of human nature is meaningful and even necessary in this debate, and that it must not be grounded in religion necessarily. His criticism of the disregard for human nature often exhibited by scientists (even in this day and age) is chilling, and goes a long way in convincing the reader that a short leash is in order when human dignity and human rights are at stake. He shows very clearly that the main risk from genetic manipulation does not come from eugenistic states intent on eliminating the inferior- as in Hitler's Germany-, but from the law of unintended consequences (which in economics is termed social externalities). There is just no way of knowing the impact that genetic manipulation will have, especially if left in the hands of ambitious parents desirous of giving their offspring an early start in life's struggle. A probable consequence is the rise of real, biologically-grounded aristocracies, who in fairness should be accepted as a perpetual ruling class. Plato's chilling description of a perfect state, in which superior minds and bodies govern the vast majority of untermenschen, neither mixing nor pitying them, could actually come into existence. While this is probably the part of the book that will generate the biggest reaction, Fukuyama's arguments about the impacts of legal drugs to alter human behaviour are not amiss either. His main point is that current society dislikes gender-specific behaviours, and therefore attempts to use drugs to generate an androgynous conformity. He refers to how Prozac is used to nudge depressed women into more self-assertive (male-like) attitudes, whereas Ritalin is used to appease hyperactive young boys into sedate compliance. His many quotes of scientists and social commentators indicate the degree to which nature is spurned by intelligent people who believe that it is, or should be, within their power, to remake human nature and the world we live in. Stanford's Paul Erlich, always good for a laugh (he was priceless in the pompous-yet-totally-mistaken-windbag role in Lomborg's "Skeptical Environmentalist") shows yet again that common sense is quite uncommon in academia. Given the risks on the one hand and on the other the total lack of insight that most scientists show in this regard, regulation is indispensable, and Fukuyama shows the way. He is right to argue that, contrary to what some people think, or would have us think, regulation does work to a large extent. And he is right that prohibition of certain types of research, such human cloning, should be the starting point and litmus test. This book is a must read for laymen who would like to make sense of the contradictory messages they receive on this subject, and of course by policy-setters, scientists, philosophers and social commentators. Besides being interesting and clear, the book is also very well written, so that the reader must not struggle with the writing to get at the heart of the point, and the length is also just right. In the hands of someone else, this might have become a 500 page tome, rambling its way through anecdotes and repetition. That's not the case. The book's 220 pages (plus notes and bibliography), and fighting fit.
Rating: 4
Summary: Timely and Provocative
Comment: This is an exploration on several levels -- advances in biotechnology and where they are headed, and what it means to be human. While occasionally tedious, overall Fukuyama has an excellent writing style and coveys information well.
He starts by briefly examining George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. He then explains, "The aim of [this] book is to argue that Huxley was right, that the most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a "posthuman" stage of history." (7)
For all of our diversity, humans share fundamental qualities. Aristotle and his students began the dialog about "the nature of human nature [which has continued] in the Western philosophical tradition right up to the early modern period, when liberal democracy was born." (13). The Declaration of Independence captured the concept of shared human equality (albeit the concept was imperfectly applied in the Constitution). Fukuyama picks up the dialog, going beyond medical ethics to how advances in biotechnology may affect what it means to be human -- our humanness.
The book is in three parts. In the first part he runs the spectrum of biotechnology issues facing humanity, asking many intriguing questions along the way. He categorizes these issues as "the increasing knowledge about the brain and the biological sources of human behavior, neuropharmacology and the manipulation of emotions and behavior, the prolongation of life, and finally, genetic engineering." (16). It is the latter that raises the most concern, that has huge moral implications, since it has the most potential to change human nature and brings with it the specter of eugenics -- originally a neutral term, but since the 1930s one that has taken on a dark, foreboding connotation.
He explains (101) the cause for worry. "It is...a fear that, in the end, biotechnology will cause us in some way to lose our humanity -- that is, some essential quality that has always underpinned our sense of who we are and where we are going ...And what is that human essence that we might be in danger of losing? For a religious person, it might have to do with the divine gift or spark that all human beings are born with. From a secular perspective, it would have to do with human nature: the species-typical characteristics shared by all human beings qua human beings. That is ultimately what is at stake in the biotech revolution."
The second part of the book "deals with the philosophical issues raised by an ability to manipulate human nature. It argues for the centrality of human nature to our understanding of right and wrong -- that is, human rights -- and how we can develop a concept of human dignity that does not depend on religious assumptions about the origins of man" (16). He discusses at length (chapter 7) Western humanistic philosophies and social theories about the nature of man that presuppose more versatility with these ideas than I possess. Noticeably, he puts less emphasis on the spiritual aspects of being human (in contrast, for example, to Dr. Martin Luther King in his meditations on "What is Man" and "Dimensions of a Complete Life.") In chapter 8 he defines what he means by human nature and in chapter 9, human dignity. The latter is "the idea there is something unique about the human race that entitles every member of the species to a higher moral status than the rest of the natural world" (160).
"We are thus brought back to the question of politics and political strategies. For if there is a viable concept of human dignity out there, it needs to be defended, not just in philosophical tracts but in the real world of politics, and protected by viable political institutions" (177). This is the topic of the third part of his book - how and where we decide to draw the line. He argues that this decision can only be made by "the democratically constituted political community, acting chiefly through their elected representatives" (186).
The scope of his research is enormous (much of it building on his previous work), and he has excellent insights. For example,
·"If people get upset enough about genetic inequality, there will be two alternative courses of action. The first and most sensible would simply be to forbid the use of biotechnology to enhance human characteristics and decline to compete in this dimension. But the notion of enhancement may become too powerfully attractive to forego...At this point a second possibility opens up, which is to use that same technology to raise up the bottom" (158-159).
·In his discussion of reductionism vs. complex systems theory (162-164) he explains how cosmology and particle physics, even the eventual discovery of a Grand Unified Theory, likely will be unable to predict with certitude how the known universe will continue to evolve.
·He says (28), "Attacking the methodological credentials of people whose views one doesn't like and dismissing their work as "pseudoscience" is a convenient shortcut around arguing over substance." Interesting comment in light of the current controversy surrounding the Raelian claim of having cloned humans for the first time.
·"Human nature also serves to provide us with guidance as to what political orders won't work. Proper understanding of the contemporary evolutionary theory of kin selection, or inclusive fitness, for example, would have led us to predict the bankruptcy and ultimate failure of communism, due to the latter's failure to respect the natural inclination to favor kin and private property" (127).
In the end this is not only a primer on biotech issues, but a philosophical discussion of what it means to be human as well. While it's an evenhanded exploration, he shows a preference for caution and control. "...[I]t is time to move from thinking to acting, from recommending to legislating. We need institutions with real enforcement powers" (204). It's a complex book that is rewarding even if difficult to fully absorb (for me, in one reading anyway).
Rating: 5
Summary: Another intellectual journey with Fukuyama
Comment: Fukuyama has a gift. He takes the great issues of the day and discerns the grand theoretical explanation for them, even while the controversy and chaos of the present swirls around us. Along with the theory comes insightful predictions of where these issues will go next.
This time Fukuyama focuses on the impact of biotechnology on science, law, philosophy and politics. He asks whether biotechnology will alter our concept of common humanity to such an extent that it will undermine the basis for human rights, dignity and equality that have served as our core values for the last century. Or will the availability of cloning prompt liberal demands to "further equality" by improving the capacities of the lower strata of society? These are no small questions.
And, if they are not enough to digest, Fukuyama will also explain how classic philosophy and political science help frame these issues, delve into the current round of the timeless debate of heredity versus environment, and ponder the nature of the "X factor" that makes a human being a human being.
Turn on your thinking cap for another journey with Fukuyama. As usual, he will lift you from the every day world of the shadows into the realm of ideas.
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Title: Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future by Gregory Stock ISBN: 061806026X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0380720027 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: February, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics by Leon R., M.D. Kass ISBN: 1893554554 Publisher: Encounter Books Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0684865777 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: TRUST: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order by Francis Fukuyama ISBN: 0684825252 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: June, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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