Many citizens of the USA have serious mental difficulties, or challenges. A lot of these challenges are overcome by cognitive enhancers. Some of these cognitive enhancers are perfectly suitable to help us deal with out of the ordinary situations like sleep deprivation or important examinations. But when (self) administered most of these enhancers are still considered medicine.
Cognitive enhancement pharmaceuticals have always been used as treatment. So unless you are sick you will not be enhanced. But pathologization is a social function. Obesity has always been a problem, only recently do we start to treat it as a decease. For a long time we have learned to live some things. But we are more and more out to get ‘fixed’.
The dilemma becomes clear when we compare these drugs with steroids. Steroids are used to enhance the body for competition. They are widely considered evil. Certain cognitive enhancement medicine could be very beneficial when taking important examination. The way we look at these two, quite similar, enhancement practices is different. Where do we stop to become human?
Is this development reversible? Do we want to reverse this? When will we see the introduction of ‘harmless’ cognitive enhancers to our diet? What I know is we are flexible in ways we hardly understand. Our brain is so flexible we introduced a new word for it: neuroplasticity.
But the consequences are not clear. But one thing is very clear:
“when we confront things with different brains, we get different answers.”
As if we only need different brains to enhance the world… Again, isn`t it just a matter of definitions, not per se of truth (whatever that means)? ;-)
what are you referring to? what do you mean?
what i wrote about is based on the ideas i had listening to a presentation on etech. this conference had a strong theme in sustainability/responsibility: “the world is ending IF we don’t do anything now”. this is the context in which the talks were held. almost a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality.
i saw 2 things in this presentation
- we will shift our perception and perspective on our body/mind as a result of these and other (technological) advances
- this shift might be beneficial to solving our ‘end of the world’ problem
where i think the 2nd is not necessary but interesting to think to about.
I think we stop being human if we don’t enhance ourselves. As Philippe Starck points out in his TED talk: we are all mutants! (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/197)
Use of brain-boosting drugs reported in survey:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/09/brain.drugs/?iref=mpstoryview
Prior to the 20th century, there were quite a number of single individual who achieved great works that have yet to be exceeded. Since that time it seems we only gain more evidence that we are not as capable as we once were. Brain boosting drugs may give some of us a glimpse at what our ancestors were capable of autonomously and naturally. However, this is only temporary and yet another reminder to those who are interested in building a sustainable future that good ideas are lacking. Perhaps something is in the way. What has been added to society in the past 100 years likely contains one or more performance reducing enhancements; physiological and neurological drag. These elements should be identified and eliminated. As our problems mount, this is no time to be enhancing our stupidity or allowing our incompetence to get the better of ourselves (http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/overestimate.html).