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At least since the publication of Peter Kramer’s book Listening to Prozac, there has been a lively public debate in the US about using medical technologies to make us “better than well.” Some critics argue that “enhancement technologies” (whether pharmacological, surgical, or genetic) threaten to alienate us from who we really are. Some enthusiasts argue that these technologies will enable us to become more fully who we really are. Parens will argue that critics and enthusiasts share more than they are inclined to acknowledge. Further, Parens will suggest that if we consider the insights on both sides more carefully, we will conclude that none of us is—or should be—comfortable on only one side.
Erik Parens(PhD)is a Senior Research Scholar at The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute in Garrison, New York. He received his BA, MA, and PHD degrees from interdisciplinary programs in the humanities at The University of Chicago. Since arriving at The Hastings Center in 1992, he has led research projects that have resulted in many publications, including 4 edited volumes: Surgically Shaping Children: Technology, Ethics, and the Pursuit of Normality (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006); Wrestling with Behavioral Genetics: Science, Ethics, and Public Conversation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005); Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights (Georgetown University Press, 2000); and Enhancing Human Traits: Ethical and Social Implications (Georgetown University Press, 1998). He is currently leading one research project on the controversies surrounding the pharmacological treatment of emotional and behavioral disturbances in children and leading a second on the controversies surrounding the interpretation of neuroimages.
