Ephemeroi - Human Vulnerability, Transhumanism, and the Meaning of Life

Authors

Keywords

vulnerability, transhumanism, human nature

Abstract

This essay is a reflection on our lived experience of being human, or of some prominent aspects of being human, in light of rising demands to use already existing and soon to be developed technologies to fundamentally change what we are. The aspects the essay focuses on are, first, our existential vulnerability and, second, our desire to live a life that, in some way or another, matters and is in that sense meaningful.

Author Biography

Michael Hauskeller, University of Liverpool

Michael Hauskeller is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Liverpool, UK. He specializes in moral and existential philosophy, but has also done work in various other areas, most notably phenomenology (the theory of atmospheres), the philosophy of art and beauty, and the philosophy of human enhancement. His numerous publications include Biotechnology and the Integrity of Life (Ashgate 2007), Better Humans? Understanding the Enhancement Project (Routledge 2013), Sex and the Posthuman Condition (Palgrave Macmillan 2014), and Mythologies of Transhumanism (Palgrave Macmillan 2016).

References

Benatar David. 2017. The Human Predicament. A Candid Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Orwell George. 1950. “How the Poor Die”, in: George Orwell, Shooting and Elephant and Other Essays, London: Secker and Warburg, 18–32.

Sinnott-Armstrong Walter and Franklin G. Miller. 2013. “What Makes Killing Wrong”, Journal of Medical Ethics 39/1, 3–7.

Tolstoy Leo. 2001. “The Death of Ivan Ilych”, in: Leo Tolstoy, Collected Shorter Fiction, translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude and Nigel J. Cooper, Vol. 2, New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Everyman’s Library), 109–171.

Scientia et Fides

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Published

2019-09-26

How to Cite

1.
HAUSKELLER, Michael. Ephemeroi - Human Vulnerability, Transhumanism, and the Meaning of Life. Scientia et Fides. Online. 26 September 2019. Vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 9-21. [Accessed 16 July 2026].

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2019): Transhumanism

Section

Articles

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