On the way home from work the other day, me and my dad we’re chatting and he told me that Dick Cheney had heart surgery in which they gave him a (LVAD- Left Ventricle Assist Device). The device is essentially a pump that helps the heart but in doing so, it removes his body’s natural pulse. At this point, I thought it was interesting that I never really thought about body augmentations too much even though I love sci-fi stories.
When do these augmentations get too far? At what point is someone still considered human? As I ponder upon these questions, when I got home and did some more research, sure enough- there’s a whole world of philosophy, ethics, and political debates about augmentations. To be more specific, these augmentations im referring to could be someone’s prosthetic leg, pacemaker, or insulin pump. In popular Science-Fiction, many would be more familiar with the term Cyborg-getting it’s name from CYBernetic ORGanism.
Now calling Dick Cheney a Cyborg is a bit of a stretch but there is a bit of truth to the label. He is an organic being with mechanical enhancements inside his body that help him not only survive but function better. So what then could be said about other devices that improve function? Do augmentations necessarily have to be mechanical? Everyday, people use contact lenses and medicine that allows them to “function” better.
I wonder what people think of human enhancements and whether or not if it’s frowned upon. Surely people might say that it’s not “natural” and not the way “God intended us to be”, but I can’t help but feel like we’re slowly stepping into a world that will address these questions more directly as humans will strive to survive and prolong their lives.
If you want to have a gist of these ideas and you’re a fellow sci-fi loving video gamer like me, I suggest you play Deus Ex Human Revolution. It addresses these issues quite thoroughly and it’s a fun game to boot. Movies such as Terminator also touch on the subject but those are more about explosions and time travel. To be more specific, I recommend Terminator Salvation as it touches on the subject more directly. I hope this jogged your brain a bit!
