Shifting Conceptions of Human Identity

人类身份观念的转变

基本信息

批准号：
6915830
负责人：
MICHAEL D BESS
金额：
$ 7.58万
依托单位：
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2005
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2005-03-11 至 2007-02-28
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6915830
关键词：
adult human (21+)artificial intelligence behavioral /social science research tag biotechnology books clinical research ethics genetic manipulation history of life science human subject identity interview robotics self concept sociology /anthropology

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): . One of the most important questions raised by the ongoing achievements of the Human Genome Project is how this new biological knowledge - and the powers it confers - will affect our identity and self-understanding as human beings. This book project focuses on one key aspect of this complex issue: exploring the extent to which human identity can be reconciled with deliberate design or partial redesign. The author proposes to shed new light on this question by comparing the debates surrounding two areas of scientific innovation that are not normally associated with each other, but that are in fact deeply related: the enterprise of human genetic intervention and the enterprise of building intelligent machines. Both these enterprises entail "pushing the limits" of traditional concepts of what it means to be human; and both ultimately confront their makers with the same core "family" of questions: What are the defining features of human personhood? To what extent can those features be modified or extended, before human personhood begins to break down? Can some (or all) of those features find embodiment in an entity other than a human being? These kinds of questions are no longer the sole province of science fiction writers, but have been taken up with increasing seriousness by mainstream scientists and technologists, as well as by a wide array of "science watchers" in academia, legislative circles, and the news media. . Through documentary research and interviews, this project aims to deepen our understanding of the history and sociology of the debates surrounding these powerful new technologies, electro-mechanical and biological, that are perceived as destabilizing human identity. The intended audience for the book is a broad one: scientists and technological practitioners interested in the social and cultural reception of their research; legislators and other policymakers with a stake in the governance of science; general educated readers who are concerned about the role of science and technology in shaping our collective future.

描述（由申请人提供）：。人类基因组计划不断取得的成就提出的最重要的问题之一是，这种新的生物学知识及其赋予的力量将如何影响我们作为人类的身份和自我理解。本书项目重点关注这一复杂问题的一个关键方面：探索人类身份与故意设计或部分重新设计相协调的程度。作者建议通过比较围绕两个通常不相关但实际上密切相关的科学创新领域的争论来阐明这个问题：人类基因干预事业和构建智能机器事业。这两项事业都需要“突破人类传统概念的极限”。两者最终都向其创造者提出了相同的核心“系列”问题：人类人格的定义特征是什么？在人类人格开始崩溃之前，这些特征可以在多大程度上被修改或扩展？这些特征中的一些（或全部）能否在人类以外的实体中找到体现？这类问题不再是科幻小说作家的专属领域，而是被主流科学家和技术专家以及学术界、立法界和新闻界的众多“科学观察家”越来越严肃地对待。媒体。。通过文献研究和访谈，该项目旨在加深我们对围绕这些强大的机电和生物新技术的争论的历史和社会学的理解，这些新技术被认为破坏了人类身份的稳定。本书的目标读者范围很广：对社会和文化接受其研究感兴趣的科学家和技术从业者；与科学治理有利害关系的立法者和其他政策制定者；受过普通教育的读者，关心科学技术在塑造我们共同未来中的作用。