The Production of Human Reproduction: Impacts of Transhumanism’s Inconsistent Reproductive Policy on Classical Ethical Principles

Abstract

The transhumanist movement is characterized by a shift from the traditional understanding of the “created” and “born” human to a “produced” and potentially “immortal” human. This article argues that the reproductive policy of transhumanism is inconsistent. Firstly, it underestimates the implications of reproduction, especially those related to women, such as pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing, which is considered a source of pain at every stage. Additionally, it prioritizes adult enhancement in pursuit of immortality, which is why it discards producing a new life. On the other hand, the movement utilizes new reproductive technologies to enhance human beings, thereby promising and providing unlimited individual reproductive freedom in a wide range of contexts. Furthermore, this article argues that transhumanism, which moves away from the concept of sexual human nature, not only excludes femininity and its associated nature but also converges towards a sexless human nature biologically. It also discharges sexuality from the purpose of reproduction and reduces it to the purpose of pleasure substantially. The overall attitude of the transhumanist context raises significant ethical problems, undermining traditional medical ethics and bioethics principles such as nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, justice, and human dignity. Moreover, it forces ethical principles to be redefined on a new basis with its indifferent attitude that ignores the threat of authoritarian eugenics, neglects reproductive responsibility while emphasizing reproductive freedom, and fails to consider the nature of the contrast-dependency of human values. As a result, new ethical principles must be developed to address the implications of this attitude.

Keywords

• Transhumanism
• human reproduction
• biological sexes
• ethical and bioethical principles
• inconsistency.

References

1. Andorno, Roberto. “The Dual Role of Human Dignity in Bioethics”. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 16 (2013), 967-973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-011-9373-5
2. Annas, George J. - Andrews, Lori B. - Isasi, Rosario M. “Protecting the Endangered Human: Toward an International Treaty Prohibiting Cloning and Inheritable Alterations”. American Journal of Law & Medicine 28/2-3 (2002), 151-178. https://doi.org/10.1017/S009885880001162X
3. Arendt, Hannah. On Violence. San Diego - New York - London: Harvest/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1970.
4. Arnold, Alec Andreas. The Technologization of Sexual Desire and the Future of Ecstatic Embodiment: A Catholic Response to Transhumanist Sexuality. Missouri: Saint Louis University, Ph.D. Dissertation, 2021.
5. Baylis, Nicholas. “What is Your Mission in Life? Why Being Happy Should Not Be Your Priority”. In Unnatural Selection: The Challenges of Engineering Tomorrow’s People. Edited by Peter Healy - Steve Rayner. 167-174. London: Earthscan, 2009.
6. Bergsma, Ad. “Transhumanism and the Wisdom of Old Genes: Is Neurotechnology a Source of Future Happiness?”. Journal of Happiness Studies 1 (2000), 401-417. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010016532529
7. Besnier, Jean-Michel. “On a Deadly Desire for Immortality. Concerning Transhumanism”. Cités 55/3 (2013), 13-23.https://doi.org/10.3917/cite.055.0013
8. Bostrom, Nick. “Human Genetic Enhancements: A Transhumanist Perspective”. Journal of Value Inquiry 37/4 (2003), 493-506. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:INQU.0000019037.67783.d5

9. Bostrom, Nick. “The Transhumanist FAQ: A General Introduction”. (2003). Accessed 28 October 2022. nickbostrom.com/views/transhumanist.pdf
10. Bostrom, Nick. “In Defense of the Posthuman Dignity”. Bioethics 19/3 (2005), 202-214. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2005.00437.x
11. Bostrom, Nick. “Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up”. In Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity. Edited by Bert Gordijn - Ruth Chadwick. 107-137 Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8852-0_8
12. Bostrom, Nick - Sandberg, Anders. “The Wisdom of Nature: An Evolutionary Heuristic for Human Enhancement”. In Human Enhancement. Edited by J. Savulescu - N. Bostrom. 375-416. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
13. Boudry, Maarten - Pigliucci, Massimo. “The Mismeasure of Machine: Synthetic Biology and the Trouble with Engineering Metaphors”. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 44/4 (2013), 660-668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.05.013
14. Buckley, Sarah J. “Undisturbed Birth: Nature’s Blueprint for Ease and Ecstasy”. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health 17/4 (Summer 2003), 261-288.
15. Cavaliere, Giulia. “The Problem with Reproductive Freedom. Procreation Beyond Procreators’ Interests”. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 23 (2020), 131-140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-019-09917-3
16. Ceran Karataş, Yaylagül. Posthüman: Şehir ve Beden. Ankara: Siyasal Kitabevi, 2022.
17. Chiang, Ted. “Liking What You See: A Documentary”. Stories of Your Life and Others. New York: Tor Books, 2002. 281-323.
18. Coyne, Lewis - Hauskeller, Michael “Hans Jonas, Transhumanism, and What It Means to Live a «“Genuine Human Life»”. Revue Philosophique de Louvain 117/2 (2019), 291-310. https://doi.org/10.2143/RPL.117.2.3287388
19. Cruz, Eduardo R. “The Evolution of Human Birth and Transhumanist Proposals of Enhancement”. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 50/4 (2015), 830-853. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12217
20. Cruz, Eduardo R. “Giving Birth, Transhumanism and Human Nature”. Revista de Filosofia Aurora 33/59 (2021), 631-651. https://doi.org/10.7213/1980-5934.33.059.AO05
21. Dahan, Orli. “Birthing Consciousness: A Lacuna in Evolutionary Psychological Science”. New Ideas in Psychology 60 (2021), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2020.100822
22. Delsol, Chantal. Icarus Fallen: The Search for Meaning in an Uncertain World. Translated by Robin Dick. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 1996.
23. Dorrier, Jason. “Why Designing Our Own Biology Will Be the Next Big Thing in Medicine”. Singularity Hub. Accessed 28 October 2022. https://singularityhub.com/2019/11/10/why-designing-our-own-biology-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-medicine/
24. Drexler, K. Eric. Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology. London: Fourth Estate, 1985.
25. Elster, Jakob. “Procreative Beneficence: Cui Bono?”. Bioethics 25/9 (2011), 482-488. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2009.01794.x
26. Fukuyama, Francis. İnsan Ötesi Geleceğimiz: Biyoteknoloji Devriminin Sonuçları. Translated by Çiğdem Aksoy Fromm. Ankara: ODTÜ Geliştirme Vakfı Yayıncılık, 2003.
27. Fuller, Steve - Lipinska, Veronika. The Proactionary Imperative. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
28. Güell Pelayo, Francisco. “The Post-humanist Embryo: Genetic Manipulation, Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Principle of Procreative Beneficence”. Cuadernos de Bioética 25/3 (2014), 427-443.
29. Hamilton, Alex. “Transhumanism: Morphological Freedom is Individual Liberty”. Medium (2015). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://medium.com/@justaham/transhumanism-morphological-freedom-is-individual-liberty-b51ea31de129
30. Hoffman, Donald. The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2019.
31. Hrdy, Sarah Blaffer. Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection. New York: Pantheon Books, 1999.
32. Huxley, Julian. “Transhumanism”. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 8/1 (1968), 73-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/002216786800800107
33. Istvan, Zoltan. “The Jesus Singularity and the End of Sex As We Know It?”. The Medical Futurist (2019). Accessed October 28, 2022. www.medicalfuturist.com/zoltan-istvan-and-the-jesus-singularity/#birth
34. Jahn, Warren T. “The 4 Basic Ethical Principles that Apply to Forensic Activities are Respect for Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, and Justice”. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 10/3 (2011), 225-226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2011.08.004
35. Jonlin, Erica C. “Informed Consent for Human Embryo Genome Editing”. Stem Cell Reports 14/4 (2020), 530-537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.03.010
36. Juvin, Hervé. The Coming of the Body. Translated by John Howe. London: Verso, 2010.
37. Kahane, Guy - Savulescu, Julian. “The Value of Sex in Procreative Reasons”. The American Journal of Bioethics 10/7 (July 2010), 22-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2010.482649
38. Kartal Soysal, Esra. Posthüman Dünyada Üreme: Felsefi Bir Giriş. Ankara: Siyasal Kitabevi, 2023.
39. Levin, Susan B. “Antiquity’s Missive to Transhumanism”. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine 42/3 (2017), 278-303. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhx008
40. Levin, Susan B. “Creating a Higher Breed: Transhumanism and the Prophecy of Anglo-American Eugenics”. In Reproductive Ethics II: New Ideas and Innovations. Edited by Lisa Campo-Engelstein - Paul Burcher. 37-58. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2018.
41. Levin, Susan B. Posthuman Bliss? The Failed Promise of Transhumanism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
42. Marinetti, Tommaso. “The Futurist Manifesto”. (1909). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://www.societyforasianart.org/sites/default/files/manifesto_futurista.pdf
43. Mirkes, Renée “Transhumanist Medicine: Can We Direct Its Power to the Service of Human Dignity?”. Linacre Quarterly 86/1 (2019), 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0024363919838134
44. Montojo, Salomėja Fernandez. “Human Reproduction in the Transhuman Era: Main Challenges for Health Law”. Social Transformations in Contemporary Society 9 (2021), 5-18.
45. More, Max. “Technological Self-Transformation: Expanding Personal Extropy”. Extropy 10/4 (1993), 15-24.
46. More, Max. “Manifesto of the Extropian Principles”, Alamut Bastion of Peace and Information (1995). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://www.alamut.com/subj/ideologies/manifestos/extropian_principles.html
47. More, Max. “A Letter to Mother Nature”. In The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future. Edited by Max More - Natasha Vita-More. 449-450. Oxford: Wiley- Blackwell, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118555927.ch41
48. Munkittrick, Kyle. “When Will We Be Transhuman? Seven Conditions for Attaining Transhumanism”. Discover Magazine (2011). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/when-will-we-be-transhuman-seven-conditions-for-attaining-transhumanism
49. Murphy, Timothy F. “The Ethics of Impossible and Possible Changes to Human Nature”. Bioethics 26/4 (2012), 191-197. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2010.01851.x
50. Noble, David F. The Religion of Technology: The Divinity of Man and the Spirit of Invention. New York: Penguin Books, 1999.
51. Nourbakhsh, Illah R. “On Pearce’s ‘The Biointelligence Explosion’”. In Singularity Hypotheses: A Scientific and Philosophical Assessment. Edited by Amnon H. Eden et al. 237-240. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2012.
52. Overall, Christine. Why have Children? The Ethical Debate. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2012.
53. Pearce, David. “Reproductive Rights in the Transhumanist Future”. Areo (April 2019). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://areomagazine.com/2019/04/19/reproductive-rights-in-the-transhuman-future/
54. Powell, Russell - Buchanan, Allen. “Breaking Evolution’s Chains: The Prospect of Deliberate Genetic Modification in Humans”. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 36 (2011), 6-27. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhq057
55. Savulescu, Julian - Kahane, Guy. “The Moral Obligation to Create Children with the Best Chance of the Best Life”. Bioethics 23/5 (2009), 274-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2008.00687.x
56. Savulescu, Julian - Kahane, Guy. “Understanding Procreative Beneficence”. In The Oxford Handbook of Reproductive Ethics. Edited by Leslie Francis. 592-622. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199981878.013.26
57. Savulescu, Julian - Sandberg, Anders. “Engineering Love”. New Scientist 5/12, 214/ 2864 (2012), 28-29.
58. Schües, Christina. “Birth”. In The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Medicine. Edited by Miriam Solomon - Jeremy R. Simon - Harold Kincaid. 103-114. New York: Routledge - Taylor & Francis, 2017.
59. Temkin, Larry. “Is Living Longer Living Better?”. In Enhancing Human Capacities. Edited by Julian Savulescu - Ruud ter Meulen - Guy Kahane. 350-367. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444393552.ch26
60. Townsend, Nicholas W. “Parenthood, Immortality, and the End of Childhood”. In The End of Children?: Changing Trends in Childbearing and Childhood. Edited by Nathanael Lauster - Graham Allan. 92-104. Toronto: UBC Press, 2012.
61. Transhumanist Bill of Rights (2018). Accessed October 28, 2022. https://transhumanist-party.org/tbr-3/
62. “Transhumanist FAQ,” Humanity+ (2016). Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.humanityplus.org/transhumanist-faq
63. Trevathan, Wenda. Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Has Shaped Women’s Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
64. Trevathan, Wenda R. - Rosenberg, Karen R. “Human Evolution and the Helpless Infant”. Costly and Cute: Helpless Infants and Human Evolution. ed. Wenda R. Trevathan – Karen R. Rosenberg. 1-28. Santa Fe - Albuquerque: School for Advanced Research Press - University of New Mexico Press, 2016.
65. Varkey, Basil. “Principles of Clinical Ethics and Their Application to Practice”. Medical Principles and Practice 30 (2021), 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119
66. Vita-More, Natasha. “Design of Life Expansion and the Human Mind”. Intelligence Unbound: The Future of Uploaded and Machine Minds. ed. Russell Blackford - Damien Broderick. 240-247. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118736302.ch17
67. Vita-More, Natasha. “Transhumanist Manifesto”, Humanity+ (2020). Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.humanityplus.org/the-transhumanist-manifesto
68. Wendorf, Marcia. “Exclusive: Concept Unveiled for the World’s First Artificial Womb Facility”. Science and Stuff (December 2022). Accessed December 29, 2022. https://scienceandstuff.com/ectolife-artificial-wombs/
69. Wojtyla, Karol. Love and Responsibility. Translated by H. T. Willets. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1993.
70. Woollard, Fiona. “Philosophy Can Explain What Kind of Achievement it is to Give Birth”. Aeon/Psyche (2020). Accessed 28 October 2022. https://psyche.co/ideas/philosophy-can-explain-what-kind-of-achievement-it-is-to-give-birth.
71. Young, Simon. Designer Evolution: A Transhumanist Manifesto. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2006.