Een groepsreis door onbekend terrein. Transhumanisme, metaforen en ethiek

Abstract

Transhumanism, metaphors and ethics. Moral debates on transhumanism are taking shape through various metaphors, but their metaphorical character is mostly hidden. The paper identifies two such metaphors. The first sees the development of humanity as the development of a human being. According to the second one, society is a game and transhumanism is seen as part of that game. Metaphors can play roles that are far more constructive when they are made explicit their limitations as well as their possibilities can then be explored and compared systematically. The paper argues that dealing with a plurality of metaphors is an important moral skill and suggests that looking for the overall best one is not the most promising strategy.