The Ethics of Cognitive Enhancement - 1312 Words

Achievement is valued highly in our society. Coaches want their players to give 110 percent, professors encourage their students to study harder, and parents want to see their children become the best person they can be. Not only do we want to keep up with the Joneses, we want to surpass them. In the pursuit of excellence, some people will take drugs as an enhancement for their cognitive abilities. What makes this path to excellence ethically questionable? There are two large issues to using cognitive enhancements: fairness and the pressure to use them. While there may be nothing intrinsically wrong with using cognitive enhancers, the use of these drugs will likely have major side-effects on society which need to be taken into†¦show more content†¦This, which Carl Elliot calls the problem of â€Å"relative ends†, would lead to many hard-working, honest people not being considered normal anymore. Performance enhancers, such as steroids or human growth hormone, ma ke sports less entertaining for everyone. An athlete that uses enhancers that are illegal for normal people gains an unfair advantage over the other athletes who do not use enhancers. The respect is lost for the athlete who cheats by using enhancers. Was it Barry Bonds who hit 762 homeruns over his career or was it the steroids? Should we admire someone who finds a way to increase performance in a way that is condemned by most people? I know I wouldnt be as proud of an achievement if it was drug enhanced. I would see myself as a cheater and wonder if my success was because of the drug and not me. It seems as if an athlete on performance enhancing drugs goes from being well-liked and a role model to being despised by most once they are caught using the drug. If they are never caught or nobody knows about their use of enhancers, all is well for the athlete, the sport, and the fans. Other athletes do not want to see their competitors using this unfair advantage because it makes them look inferior comparatively. Sports fans also do not want to see someone succeed that cheats by using enhancers. They want to see someone who works hard and earns what they are trying to accomplish.Show MoreRelatedRise Of The Metahum Should We Enhance?1380 Words   |  6 Pagesfor what s to come, and is humanity ready? Before we answer this question, we need to narrow the parameters of what we mean by human enhancement. Human enhancement is anything we do to overcome our natural baseline abilities as a human being. (Allhoff, et al. 8) There are many things as humans that we currently do that are considered enhancement. Natural enhancement can be thought of as anything we do to improve ourselves that occurs in nature. This can include extra training for an athletic eventRead MoreThe Birth Mark By Nathaniel Hawthorne821 Words   |  4 Pagesour survival.† Evidence shows on how she reacted on the husband’s disapproval of the birthmark itself. The article in place discussing the topic of Cognitive Enhancement, the author name is Ross Andersen who will be interviewing a bioethicist on where do Cognitive Enhancement stands with the public and the medical possibility. Cognitive Enhancement is a similar term of enhancing abilities using natural resources, drugs, and technology. In the article, a team of ethicists from Oxford released a paperRead MoreContemporary Scientific Progression And Discourses1329 Words   |  6 Pagestheir underlying potential for not only treatment, but enhancement of our present biological state. Humanity has now reached a critical moment in its existence where the prospect of emerging biotechnologies presents us with unprecedented opportunities to radically transform human existence. 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The answer should hinge on whether the activity subject to enhancement is zero-sumRead MoreGenetic Interventions And The Ethics Of Enhancement Of Human Beings Essay1588 Words   |  7 Pagesthis topic and presenting the argument for each one. Julian Savulescu wrote Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings and in this article he clearly states his position on the issues as well as providing supporting and opposing sides to the matter. He starts off by explaining this issue is focused on biological enhancement and more specifically genetic enhancement. Then the thesis statement is provided, â€Å"I want to argue that, far from it’s being merely permissible, we haveRead MoreBehavior Regulations Such As Parenting Socialization, And Education1405 Words   |  6 Pagescan all be seen as forms of human enhancement in accordance to Harris. 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However, in college these CEDs are much more widely used, usually as recreational â€Å"study drugs,† due