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In Better than Human, noted bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples with the ethical dilemmas of the medical revolution and biomedical enhancements. One problem, he argues, is that the debate over these enhancements has divided into polar extremes-into denunciations of meddling in the natural (or divine) order, or else a heady optimism that we can cure all that ails humanity. In fact, Buchanan notes, the human genome has always been unstable, and intervention
is no offense against nature. But we must be aware of the danger of unintended consequences of these enhancements, and avoid the risk that only the wealthy will enjoy enhancements, exacerbating social inequalities.

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In Better than Human?, noted bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples with the ethical dilemmas of the medical revolution now upon us. Biomedical enhancements, he writes, can make us smarter, have better memories, be stronger, quicker, have more stamina, live much longer, be more resistant to disease and to the frailties of aging, and enjoy richer emotional lives. They can even improve our character, or at least strengthen our powers of self-control. In spite of
the benefits that biomedical enhancements may bring, many people instinctively reject them. Some worry that we will lose something important-our appreciation for what we have or what makes human beings distinctively valuable. To think clearly about enhancement, Buchanan argues, we have to acknowledge that
nature is a mixed bag and that our species has many "design flaws". We should be open to the possibility of becoming better than human, while never underestimating the risk that our attempts to improve may backfire.

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Medicine promises not just to cure disease but to make us "better than well," with "cognitive enhancement drugs" like Ritalin and even genetic modification. In this slim manifesto, Buchanan rebuts claims that such efforts are unprecedented, unnatural or unjust." The New York Times

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Allen Buchanan is the author of eleven books on bioethics and political philosophy. He has served on the Advisory Council for the National Human Genome Research Institute, Staff Philosopher for the President´s Commission on Medical Ethics, and as consultant to President Barack Obama´s Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

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