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Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2015

Enhancement: why we should distinguish anthropotechnics from medicine?

Résumé

This paper is a conceptual interrogation of the controversial distinction between medicine and human enhancement. In 'Enhancing Human Traits' (1998), Parens was already reflecting on this issue and the difficulties that surround it. While he seemed to argue in favour of the distinction, he did not consider the arguments conclusive. In 2003, Kass explicitly rejected the distinction in his 'Beyond Therapy', although he nevertheless reintroduced a tacit distinction by adopting a different methodological approach for describing the practices of enhancement from that used for classic medicine. In his 'Human Enhancement - A Study' (2009), read before the European Parliament, Coenen avoided these difficulties by distinguishing between 'therapeutic enhancement' and 'non-therapeutic enhancement'. In his 'Regeln für den Menschpark (1999) Sloterdijk did not talk about 'human enhancement' but 'anthropotechnics' ('anthropotechniken'), a term also used by Hottois in 'Species Technica' (2002). Thus, 'human enhancement', both as an expression and as a concept is a recurrent topic of debate. This paper examines the main arguments against making a distinction between enhancement and medicine. It shows the inconsistency of the majority of them, assuming both the necessity of the conceptual distinction, and the ambiguity of the word 'enhancement', used both within and outside medicine. In order to move beyond this confusing situation, the second part of the paper promotes the replacement of the term 'enhancement' by the term 'anthropotechnics', with a clear definition. Derived from the work of Sloterdijk and Hottois, it provides an adequate relation between word and concept. Based on the Greek etymology of 'anthropos' and 'techne', it is relatively easy to understand. The third part is devoted to two arguments in favour of the anthropotechnical/medical distinction. On one hand it clarifies the framework of the consultation between the client and the practitioner, while on the other it can help us to clarify our responsibilities and elaborate appropriate ethical guidelines.
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Dates et versions

hal-00989560 , version 1 (12-05-2014)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-00989560 , version 1

Citer

Jérôme Goffette. Enhancement: why we should distinguish anthropotechnics from medicine?. Simone Bateman, Jean Gayon, Sylvie Allouche, Jérôme Goffette, Michela Marzano. Inquiring into Human Enhancement, Palgrave MacMillan, pp.57-86, 2015. ⟨hal-00989560⟩
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