Authenticity and the problem of human augmentation

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.The practice of augmenting hunan beings using technological or pharmaceutical means is rapidly expanding and there are many who fear the practice may be a threat to our very humanity. In this work I trace the primary source of that concem to the moral ideal of authenticity and examine how authenticity is used in the contemporary literature on human augmentation. Each conception, or framework of authenticity in the literature is expounded on and evaluated, and each is found somewhat lacking. Finally, I propose an altemative view of authenticity based on Wittgenstein's concept of family resemblance and use it to evaluate whether particular augmentation procedures are authentic, inauthentic, or entirely neutral.2031-01-0