Designing Persons? On Depersonalisation of the Human Being in Modern Transhumanism

Ks. Marcin FERDYNUS

Arcybiskupie Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Szczecinie, ul. Papieża Pawła VI 2, 71-459 Szczecin, Poland , Poland

Abstract

Achievements of biomedical science allow us to interfere with human nature to a larger extent than ever before. Supporters of such activities, especially transhumanists, hold that technological progress determines an inevitable direction of such interference and all doubts related to biomedical improvement of the human being lack sufficient grounds. The article considers whether the transhumanist demand for a transformation of the human being into the ‘post-human’ being involves depersonalisation. The conducted analyses show that in the case of transhumanism we would be dealing with twofold depersonalisation of the human being: firstly, the transhumanist postulates jeopardize the attitude of unconditional love, which is the only proper attitude towards the human person, and, secondly, they objectify human life, which as such is unobjectifiable.

Keywords:

depersonalisation, transhumanism, human nature, biomedical enhancement