Transhumanism: What Makes One Human?

While technology is fairly new, humanity is not. As the development of technology continues, our mind, bodies, behavior, and interactions begin to change (Jay N.). Technologies like smartphones, Iphones, tablets, computers, and GPS systems all play an important role in the evolution of the human race. It has changed our communication, our worldviews and social circles are expanding, and much more. Technology and the effects that it have on the human race is important and indeed related to human evolution. Technology has changed the face of bullying, obesity, depression, Blackberry/Iphone thumb, neck and head pain, a lack of sexual boundaries, and an increase in homosexuality (Roogirl). Everyone should care about my topic because the exact manner

Throughout the evolution of mankind, we made discoveries that change the way we live our lives today. Over time, these breakthroughs demonstrate the progress succumbed by the human race as challenges arise. Nevertheless, technology is a significant factor to the progress in today's world. If there was no tech then there would be no cell phones. Cell phones are one of those vital pieces of tech we use frequently. Tech is always around us. Humans create things to make life easier and resolve a once difficult task at hand. Moreover, inventions brought up in the past make the present and future bigger and brighter because of how much simpler life becomes. Because of the technological advancements

In a world where the functions of cellphones, robotics, and such technology are rising, humans are becoming more and more dependent on them on a day to day basis. People are seen using a cell phone all the time and pretty much all jobs use some sort of technology in order to aid the workers. Essay authors published in the book “They Say/I Say” all have different opinions on whether or not all this rise of technology is a beneficial thing for humans or not. In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr believes that the internet is altering the way that his mind works when he is reading and Sherry Turkle’s article “No Need to Call” depicts several instances of people’s lives and how they are affected by their phones and computers.

A major impetus to improving artificial limbs started when the United States encouraged companies to improve prosthetics instead of munitions (Norton, 2007). The combination of lighter materials and robotics assist has created huge advancements in functionality and has dramatically improved quality of life and potential for independent living. Even with the advancement of these limbs, the basic mechanical principals are still the same. Modern times allow for many different types of limbs to be created. Limbs can be created to match skin tone, freckles and fingerprints. There are three many ways a limb can be made to move. The first is attaching the limb to a moving body part to act as a gear shifter. Another variation is a motor attached and the person can switch modes by a mechanical toggle shift. The most advanced movement is the myoelectric capability. This is when electrodes are placed on the muscles of the residual limb. When contracted the arm will move according to which electrode fired. A microprocessor can also be attached to learn exactly how the person walks (Clements, 2008). Modern prosthetics offer valuable life skills, yet are very

The impact of amputation can have many emotional effects on amputees. Many amputees go through a period of low-self esteem and emotional adjustment after losing a limb. Some amputees view themselves of having a problem. This viewpoint is not relatively new, it has been the mindset of amputees for centuries. In the feudal era, knights often had prosthetics made into their armor to appear as if they had all their biological limbs. However, these prosthetics were virtually useless. These views that affected prosthetics can be easily seen today. Cosmesis is a type of prosthetic that can model real limbs with extreme detail such as skin color, freckles, and even hair. Besides the limitations of cosmesis, many amputees report that most people can not distinguish the prosthetic from the real limb (Bowers). Cosmesis is an ongoing study to provide amputees with a life-like prosthesis that offers function and mobility. The desire to gain independence and acceptance of the prosthesis may also influence the advancements of prosthetics.

For some amputees, there may be a physical and emotional pain with the lost of a limb. Bionics may not look and feel like a biological limb, but it comes close in providing the functions and fills the blank space of a missing limb. Providing individuals with bionic prosthetic technology assists in the reduction of health care cost by enabling an individual to maintain an appropriate activity level. Bionic limbs “enables people to return to work and other important daily activities faster and easier than before” ( Hixenbaugh, 2010, p. 721). With the use of bionics an amputee can walk with a natural gait and reduce the occurrence of stress on other joints ( Hixenbaugh, 2010, p. 725). This alleviates the chance of chronic or acute pain. An amputee can achieve a close to normal or normal metabolic energy exertion and reduced the amount of energy exerted from the amputee ( Hixenbaugh, 2010, p. 725). This may give the wearer the ability to withstand longer minor physical activities, such as walking for longer periods of time. Individals that wear BioM walk at 23% faster than the speed of wearing a traditional prosthetic ( Hixenbaugh, 2010, p. 725). This gives an amputee to walk at a natural speed. Through the use of external input bionics use, amputees gain the ability to safely walk on different terrains and stairs. Overall bionic prosthetics improve quality of life for amputee veterans as well as other individuals with

In the future the medical discovery will be extensive. The world of prosthesis has become more innovative in the last year. In the nineties, prosthetics were made of plastic, wood, and leather. Recently, doctors have designed a prosthetic arm in which the nerves from the brain are sent to the arm. This allows full function. This is only the beginning to a future of bionic prosthetic arms. In the future, doctors could design a bionic arm that doesn't look so robotic. A new arm that looks real and has full function might be designed. If doctors keep on being innovative, the most high tech arm could be created, and the prosthesis will be easy to access.

Many disabled people today live in a world where they are seen as incapable of completing normal daily tasks. Life is a struggle however they can’t do anything else but to carry on. The future of bionic body parts could indefinitely enhance a disabled person’s life. It would allow for them to be more mobile/active, and within that, gain many health benefits to securing a longer and healthier life. At a conference session discussing the future of robotic, a speaker called Harding showed his exoskeleton work in progress. It allowed a paraplegic man to simply stand up and walk with a little bit of aid. In future, products like this could allow paraplegics to get up and walk completely by themselves. This would have a positive impact on physical and mental health (Gibbs, 2015). A future product like this will benefit a diverse group of injured people, whether it’s military injuries or car accident injuries. At this present time, society faces a major problem with organ donations. More people are on an organ transplant list than what is going around, and every year lots of those people die before they get a transplant. Our future body parts made with advanced technology such as computer-aided jet-based 3D tissue engineering would solve this problem. Less people would be dying and more would be living longer. With these positive aspects does come some negative

Technology has helped humanity in almost every aspect of everyday life. It has made life so much easier that it has become almost impossible to live without. In Dr. Richard Restaks “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era”, and Alexandra Samuels “Plug In Better’: A Manifesto” they both go into detail on how technology has affected today’s society, and how it has changed human behavior to rely on it to such a degree that people have become addicted to technology as if they need it for their very survival. Both Restak and Samuel talk about how technology has made humanity more connected to each other and yet has also disconnected each other at the same time and to the real world. People use technology so much in their everyday lives to solve problems and to carry out tasks that they no longer control its effects on them, whereas before people had to rely on their own individual talents, skills, and efforts to get tasks completed. Gene therapy and other cutting edge medical techniques like all technology, has incredible life changing potential as well as possible side effects

An estimated 1.7 million United States (U.S.) citizens in the year 2007 were living with the loss of a limb. This number is projected to more than double by the year 2050 to 3.6 million. This trend is driven by an aging population and the associated increase of amputations resulting from diabetes and vascular disease (McFarland). Limb amputees face overwhelming physical, emotional, and financial lifestyle changes. They require prosthetic devices and services which become a lifetime commitment. Problems and solutions of prosthetic devices can be observed through ease of use, approval of new technology, coverage by insurers, and the viewpoint of the Catholic Church.

My passion for the world of Prosthetics and Orthotics was sparked whilst serving with the Military in Afghanistan, where I was witness to the varying array of catastrophic injuries, caused by the conflict. Not only amongst my fellow Service Personnel, but also amongst the local populace.

In the future engineers expect to continue to advance the use of prosthetics to not only

Imagine yourself waking up with no arms. Trying to do anything would prove difficult: for example eating, drinking, using the restroom. What if it was your legs? An eye? A toe? Life would not be any easier. For some people, this is a reality. Whatever the reason for the absence of their limbs, whether it be disease or injury, there is an attachable solution. Unfortunately, science has yet to find a way to regrow your limbs, but scientists have developed a way to simulate the motions and abilities of an actual appendage. They created prosthetics. These devices can look like real limbs and function very similarly. Prosthetics became an important tool in the recovery process for people with impaired capabilities as they can provide much needed

I have chosen human enhancement as my main ethics discussion, particularly the prosthetic limbs side of human enhancement. Mechanical prosthetic limbs have been around since World War I time (The Conversation, para 3). As we all know prosthetic limbs are meant to replace either a disability/cut off arm or leg. The goal of that prosthetic arm or leg is for the individual to be able to perform everyday activities as she/he would with a normal arm or leg. After all, that is why the prosthetic technology was created for. This technology is not without its faults of course.

In the medical field, there are various implications that shape the world in which we live in today. For example, prosthetics have made major advancements throughout medical history. It has provided millions of people with the opportunity to reestablish their lives. This innovation has not only transformed millions of people’s lives, but also has affected society as well. Prosthetics, are a major innovation that shapes society with its basic operation and how it has assisted millions of people around the world.