Moral Transhumanism: The Next Step
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine – August 01, 2012
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Psilocybin is proposed as a practical biomedical innovation for moral enhancement, addressing transhumanism's risks of harm and social inequalities. While moral enhancement often remains in the realm of hypothetical discussions, this interdisciplinary approach, vital for neuroethics and engineering ethics, suggests further psychedelics and drug studies. Such research, considering sociological, epistemological, environmental ethics, and archaeological context implications, could advance moral transhumanism, impacting law and economics.
Abstract
Although transhumanism offers hope for the transcendence of human biological limitations, it generates many intrinsic and consequential ethical concerns. The latter include issues such as the exacerbation of social inequalities and the exponentially increasing technological capacity to cause harm. To mitigate these risks, many thinkers have initiated investigations into the possibility of moral enhancement that could limit the power disparities facilitated by biotechnological enhancement. The arguments often focus on whether moral enhancement is morally permissible, or even obligatory, and remain largely in the realm of the hypothetical. This paper proposes that psilocybin may represent a viable, practical option for moral enhancement and that its further research in the context of moral psychology could comprise the next step in the development of moral transhumanism.