Mon premier blog

Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution . Francis Fukuyama

Our.Posthuman.Future.Consequences.of.the.Biotechnology.Revolution..pdf
ISBN: 0312421710,9780312421717 | 0 pages | 5 Mb
Download Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution

Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution Francis Fukuyama
Publisher: Picador

Maybe we have a future after all: Our Posthuman Future is political historian Francis Fukuyama's reconsideration of his 1989 announcement that history had reached an end. He claims that science, particularly genome studies, offers radical changes, possibly more profound than anything since the development of language, in the way we think about human nature. He makes his case thoroughly and eloquently, rarely dipping into philosophical or critical jargon and consistently maintaining an informal tone.

--Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Fukuyama (The End of History and the Last Man; Trust) is no stranger to controversial theses, and here he advances two: that there are sound nonreligious reasons to put limits on biotechnology, and that such limits can be enforced. Fukuyama argues that "the most significant threat" from biotechnology is "the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a `posthuman' stage of history." The most obvious way that might happen is through the achievement of genetically engineered "designer babies," but he presents other, imminent routes as well: research on the genetic basis of behavior; neuropharmacology, which has already begun to reshape human behavior through drugs like Prozac and Ritalin; and the prolongation of life, to the extent that society might come "to resemble a giant nursing home." Fukuyama then draws on Aristotle and the concept of "natural right" to argue against unfettered development of biotechnology. His claim is that a substantive human nature exists, that basic ethical principles and political rights such as equality are based on judgments about that nature, and therefore that human dignity itself could be lost if human nature is altered. Finally, he argues that state power, possibly in the form of new regulatory institutions, should be used to regulate biotechnology, and that pessimism about the ability of the global community to do this is unwarranted. Throughout, Fukuyama avoids ideological straitjackets and articulates a position that is neither Luddite nor laissez-faire. The result is a well-written, carefully reasoned assessment of the perils and promise of biotechnology, and of the possible safeguards against its misuse. (Apr.) Forecast: As the FSG publicity material notes, Fukuyama famously declared in the wake of communism's collapse that "the major alternatives to liberal democracy" had "exhausted themselves." This less dramatic assessment should still win a hearing, if not among scientists then among a public concerned about science's growing power.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

MORE EBOOKS:
Food: the key concepts pdf download
Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World ebook download
Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations ebook download







Tags: Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution ebook pdf epub djvu mobi rar
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution pdf epub djvu free download
Download Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution free ebook pdf epub
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution read online free book
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution cheap ebook for kindle and nook
Francis Fukuyama ebooks and audio books
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution download pdf epub rar rapidshare mediafire fileserve 4shared torrent depositfiles scribd