Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares

Maxwell J. Mehlman is a professor of bioethics, the Petersilge Professor of Law, and director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University. He is author of The Price of Perfection: Individualism and Society in the Era of Biomedical Enhancement, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: What Is to Come?1. Visions of Heaven and Hell2. Thinking about the UnthinkablePart II: The Hazards of Evolutionary Engineering3. Physical Harm to Children4. Psychosocial Harm to Children5. Broader Consequences for Society6. The End of the Human Lineage7. Evolution by Nature or by Human Design?Part III: Managing Risk in Evolutionary Engineering8. Protecting the Children9. Preserving Societal Cohesion10. Providing for Our Descendents11. Safeguarding the Human SpeciesEpilogueNotesIndex

Bioethicist Maxwell Mehlman thinks that we will inevitably reengineer the human species, and he writes about that and the mistakes we might make in the process... A deep and wide-ranging catalog of the implications of transhumanism as a philosophical doctrine and a careful analysis of potential pitfalls and concerns... Accessible while having enough scientific substance to be taken seriously, Transhumanist Dreams provides a thought-provoking read for genetics professionals, ethicists, interested scientists, and concerned citizens. -- Michael A. Goldman Science