 Citizen
CyborgWhy Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future by James J. Hughes |
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Reviews of Citizen CyborgThe Book Editors of the April 2005 issue of Scientific
American
recommend
Citizen Cyborg: “A challenging and provocative look at the
intersection of human self-modification and political governance.
Everyone wondering how society will be able to handle the coming
possibilities of AI and Genomics should read
Citizen Cyborg.” "Citizen Cyborg...has made
waves in academic circles..." "James Hughes is a sober, insightful, useful and
optimistic thinker about the astonishing changes in store for human
nature. 'Citizen
Cyborg' is an important contribution to the rapidly moving
debate on human enhancement." "A fascinating tour of the coming intersection of
politics, nanotechnology, and biology, by the leading champion of
Transhumanism. Anyone who wants to understand the tumultuous
bio-politics of the next decade should read this book." "...genuinely surprising, engaging and engrossing...Hughes's
remarkable achievement in Citizen Cyborg is the fusion of social
democratic ideals of tempered, reasoned state intervention to
promote equality of opportunity with the ideal of self-determination
inherent in transhumanism. Transhumanism, Hughes convincingly
argues, is the sequel to humanism, and to feminism, to the movements
for racial and gender equality, for the fight for queer and
transgender rights." "In Citizen Cyborg, James Hughes maps what he sees
as these emerging parties in bio-politics and their relationship to
the ideologies and isms of the 20th century. A transhumanist, he
nonetheless believes it is possible to find a middle way between the
libertarians who advocate a technological free-for-all and the
bio-conservatives who want the lot banned. He places himself within
the traditions of both liberal and social democracy, arguing that
"transhumanist technologies can radically improve our quality of
life, and that we have a fundamental right to use them to control
our bodies and minds. But to ensure these benefits we need to
democratically regulate these technologies and make them equally
available in free societies." Contrary to Fukuyama, Hughes does not
believe that the biotech wonders of the transhumanist era will
create new elites. He argues that they could even strengthen
equality by empowering those who are currently downtrodden." "A powerful indictment of the anti-rationalist
attitudes that are dominating our national policy today. Hughes
brings together ideas from religion, history, science, bioethics,
and politics in a unique way. The book sparkles with insights,
challenges, and new ways of looking at the problems our society is
facing today. He is a worthy guide to a more humane future." "Hughes does an excellent job of describing the transformative
possibilities of biotech, nanotech, information systems and
cognitive research. Citizen Cyborg is not just about the wonders of
technology, but also about how Hughes thinks transhumanists can best
persuade their fellow citizens to welcome the changes. Hughes begins
by offering a good history of the beginnings of transhumanist
thinking and demonstrates that it is the legitimate heir of
humanism....Citizen Cyborg is invaluable in sharpening the
political issues that humanity will confront as the biotech
revolution rolls on." "Citizen Cyborg is an excellent survey of the promises and
fears of technological developments that will drastically alter
humans and human nature itself." “'Pastoralists are okay with a radically transformed life through
yoga or organic gardening,' Hughes says, 'but once you start a
discussion about using tech to end disease, death, poverty, or work,
a wall goes up.'...Along with calls for social equity and
responsibility, he says, 'we also need to give ourselves permission
to be excited about new technologies.'” "Citizen
Cyborg is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the
dangers posed by radical transhumanism. James Hughes' passionate and
skilled advocacy forces us to confront the kind of society we want
for ourselves and our children. We either reassert our commitment to
the moral importance of being human or open the door to a futuristic
bio-anarchy that could be the death knell of universal human
equality." "James Hughes has written a profoundly important
book for anyone seriously seeking to understand the real ethical and
religious issues, and possibilities, that confront humanity today.
His voice, however, is one of reason and hope, as opposed to the
politics and policies of fear that seem to have paralyzed the
imagination of reactionary intellectuals of the right and the left
who have dominated the discussion until now. Hughes is a true
evolutionist, who recognizes that evolution is a continuing process,
that the “cold, hard facts” of materialistic science and technology,
are basically friendly, and that the fundamental liberal principles
of liberty, equality, solidarity of persons, reason and progress are
as just as real, and maybe even more important, today then at the
time of the original enlightenment." "An important book that everyone will now have to
refer to in all political debates about enhancement. It sets out a
comprehensive and reasonably-argued position, which is what is
needed."
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