Reviews
Bioethicist Maxwell Mehlman thinks that we will inevitably reengineer the human species, and he writes about that and the mistakes we might make in the process... A deep and wide-ranging catalog of the implications of transhumanism as a philosophical doctrine and a careful analysis of potential pitfalls and concerns... Accessible while having enough scientific substance to be taken seriously, Transhumanist Dreams provides a thought-provoking read for genetics professionals, ethicists, interested scientists, and concerned citizens.
A well-balanced and well-documented look at how we now are positioned (at least in the United States) to control this process, and what some of the pros and cons of enlarging control, or alternatively loosening it, might be.
In his highly readable and especially timely new book, The Price of Perfection, Mehlman makes it clear that he is not at all persuaded that the ethical response to the availability of performance-enhancing drugs in sports—or elsewhere in society, for that matter—is to ban them and then spend a lot of effort testing for those who use them anyway.
Book Details
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: What Is to Come?
1. Visions of Heaven and Hell
2. Thinking about the Unthinkable
Part II: The Hazards of Evolutionary Engineering
3. Physical Harm to Children
4
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: What Is to Come?
1. Visions of Heaven and Hell
2. Thinking about the Unthinkable
Part II: The Hazards of Evolutionary Engineering
3. Physical Harm to Children
4. Psychosocial Harm to Children
5. Broader Consequences for Society
6. The End of the Human Lineage
7. Evolution by Nature or by Human Design?
Part III: Managing Risk in Evolutionary Engineering
8. Protecting the Children
9. Preserving Societal Cohesion
10. Providing for Our Descendents
11. Safeguarding the Human Species
Epilogue
Notes
Index