ABSTRACT
The debate on human enhancement enriched and fueled intellectual reasoning about the future of human beings by adding further ethical, anthropological, and philosophical aspects, in particular in the fields of post- and transhumanism. This chapter introduces the central ideas of these underlying enhancement stories. It clarifies the semantics of technologically improving humans. The chapter summarizes the major concerns raised in the ethical debate. It considers possible political dimensions and addresses responsibility issues. The chapter analyses the changing relations between humans and technology in the course of human enhancement. Neuro-enhancement is to be among the key application fields of converging technologies. Neuro-enhancements refer to improvements of human capabilities resulting from implants or medications either connected to the nervous system or to the brain, or that act upon them. Cognitive enhancement aims to extend the cognitive functions of the brain. Human enhancements, strong or weak, leave behind the normative framework of medical ethics and the area of healing and restoration.
