The Nanoethics Group

Dr. Patrick Lin is the research director for The Nanoethics Group, and adjunct assistant professor at Western Michigan University. He has worked with start-ups to established companies such as Covisint (venture founded by Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, et al.), Volkswagen, Nextel, Sprint PCS, Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Omnisky, Siemens, Business Objects, Veritas, JetBlue, eBay, E*TRADE, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medtronic, Telus, and other market makers.

Dr. Lin received his B.A. in philosophy (political & legal theories) from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990, with significant coursework in the physical sciences.  He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy (ethics and political & economic theories) from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1997. 

The ethics of human enhancement is more than a debate over possible benefits versus harms.  It is also a deeply philosophical one in which both pro- and anti-enhancement camps have cited reasons to defend their positions.

However, critical evaluation of these reasons has been largely focused on the anti-enhancement side, e.g., deconstructing the concept of human dignity or questioning metaphysical assumptions.  Without endorsing either position, this presentation turns the spotlight on pro-enhancement reasons, as articulated in “More Than Human” (2005) by Ramez Naam who is also a speaker at this conference.  While these reasons may sound initially plausible and perhaps even intuitive, we will show that they are problematic and, by themselves, cannot convincingly justify the pro-enhancement position.