Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution - Softcover

Fukuyama, Francis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312421710 ISBN 13: 9780312421717

Publisher: Picador, 2003

Synopsis

A decade after his now-famous pronouncement of "the end of history," Francis Fukuyama argues that as a result of biomedical advances, we are facing the possibility of a future in which our humanity itself will be altered beyond recognition. Fukuyama sketches a brief history of man's changing understanding of human nature: from Plato and Aristotle to the modernity's utopians and dictators who sought to remake mankind for ideological ends. Fukuyama argues that the ability to manipulate the DNA of all of one person's descendants will have profound, and potentially terrible, consequences for our political order, even if undertaken with the best of intentions. In Our Posthuman Future, one of our greatest social philosophers begins to describe the potential effects of genetic exploration on the foundation of liberal democracy: the belief that human beings are equal by nature.

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Review

Maybe we have a future after all: Our Posthuman Future is political historian Francis Fukuyama's reconsideration of his 1989 announcement that history had reached an end. He claims that science, particularly genome studies, offers radical changes, possibly more profound than anything since the development of language, in the way we think about human nature. He makes his case thoroughly and eloquently, rarely dipping into philosophical or critical jargon and consistently maintaining an informal tone.

Fukuyama is deeply concerned about the erosion of the foundations of liberal democracy under pressure from new concepts of humans and human rights, and most readers will find some room for agreement. Ultimately, he argues for strong international regulation of human biotechnology and thoughtfully disposes of the most compelling counterarguments. While readers might not agree that we're at risk of creating Huxley's Brave New World, it's hard to deny that things are changing quickly and that perhaps we ought to consider the changes before they're irrevocable. --Rob Lightner

About the Author

Francis Fukuyama teaches at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Trust, The End of History, and The Last Man, among other works. He lives in McLean, Virginia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312421710
• ISBN 13: 9780312421717
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272