人类增强伦理中的两种人性观及其困境

Two Views of Human Nature and the Problem in the Ethics of Human Enhancement

如何理解人性是人类增强伦理的核心问题。生物保守主义和超人类主义作为人类增强问题上的两种对立观点,它们基于不同的人性观展开的争论集中体现了这一点。生物保守主义主张,人性是给定的,我们不应该改变它,人类增强会改变人性因而应受到约束和管控;超人类主义则主张,人类是不断进化的、富于创造力的物种,人类增强可以突破人性的限制因而应予以鼓励和提倡。对两种人性观的分析表明,生物保守主义的人性观不能说明生物技术增强与社会文化增强之间的道德差异,而超人类主义的人性观则无法说明人类增强在何种意义上改变了人性,并且两种人性观都会遭遇休谟的是与应当难题。因而,两种不同的人性观都不能为人类增强问题提供真正的伦理指导。

How to understand human nature is a central question in the ethics of human enhancement.Bioconservatism and transhumanism,as two opposing views on the issue of human enhancement,are centered in their arguments based on different views of human nature.Bioconservatism asserts that human nature is given and we should not change it,and that human enhancement changes human nature and should therefore be restrained and controlled.Transhumanism,on the other hand,asserts that human beings are an evolving,creative species,and that human enhancement should be encouraged and promoted because it can push the limits of human nature.Neither of the two different views of human nature can provide real ethical guidance on the issue of human enhancement.