Bioethics: Should We Strive To Be Better Than Human?

Do you think it is ethical for medical science to do more than simply treat illnesses and try to make us “better than human?” Are the things we are doing today such as cognitive enhancement drugs and genetic modification unprecedented? Join Bioethicist Dr. Allen Buchanan at Chesterfield County Public School’s Visiting Author Program on October 23rd at 6:30 p.m as he explores the promise and perils of our current medical revolution.

Dr. Buchanan is a Philosophy professor at Duke University and a member of the Advisory Council for the National Human Genome Research Institute. He will discuss his book “Better than Human: The Promise and Perils of Enhancing Ourselves” and point out how technological and biomedical enhancements have existed throughout human history - from technologies for cooking to new horizons in medicine. He will explore current research on new science that can make us smarter, stronger, live longer and be more resistant to aging.

Delving into the ethical implications, Buchanan will consider questions such as -have we gone too far as we develop medical enhancements for our lives? How do we avoid unintended consequences and avoid increasing social inequalities through their use? Join Buchanan and Chesterfield County students as they grapple with these questions and discuss possiblities for the future.

Click here for an article in The Atlantic on Dr. Buchanan and “Better than Human: The Promise and Perils of Enhancing Ourselves.”

The Visiting Author Program is Free and open to the public, October 23rd, at 6:30 p.m.   As part of the Visiting Author Program, Chesterfield County students have studied Buchanan's book and have prepared for debates that will follow the lecture.  Click here for event flyer (PDF) and listen to the special report below by WCVE Public Radio's Charles Fishburne.

Location: Midlothian High School, 401 Charter Colony Parkway; Midlothian, VA 23114 

For more information contact Melanie Haimes-Bartolf, Instructional Specialist for Science, Chesterfield County Public Schools

Article written by Debbie Mickle, Science Matters Project Manager

Discover more stories like this at Science Matters and Like us on Facebook.