Bill McKibben's latest book, "Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age," raises some fundamental questions about who we are, what we are, and how we may be affected by the biotechnologies which we already possess and those which are just over the horizon. The author takes us on an expedition into the world of genetic research, nanotechnology and robotics.
This is a passionate book and a disturbing book and one that presents what we in the "argumentation trade" might call a "persuasive" argument, that is, a presentation of facts which are used, not to support a conclusion that may be true or false, but used to support a conclusion promoting a particular policy or course of action.
"Enough" is also a revealing book, a hard and detailed look at our rapid acceleration into technologies which may have permanent and adverse effects on the future of human beings; indeed, these technologies have the potential to affect what it means to be human at all. Because he perceives this to be a threatening situation, McKibben discusses technologies such as germline engineering and therapeutic cloning, warning that they represent a slippery slope that may make more dangerous and harmful technologies possible and even acceptable.
"[I]f we aggressively pursue any or all of several new technologies now before us," the author says, "we may alter our relationship not with the rest of nature but with ourselves. First human genetic engineering and then advanced forms of robotics and nanotechnology will call into question, often quite explicitly, our understanding of what it means to be a human being."
McKibben acquaints us with microscopic nanobots cruising our bloodstreams, attacking pathogens within our bodies and building new cells. And with children born so genetically enhanced that they will never be able to believe that they reached success as musicians or artists or athletes or whatever because there was something unique in them and a hunger to reach the pinnacle of their ability through their own choice and desire.
The author tackles what it means to be human, pointing out how these new technologies threaten our very identity as human beings. "What if we have been programmed," he asks, "or at least must suspect each time we choose a path that we have been nudged in that direction by our engineered cells? Who then 'are we'?"
One of the more interesting arguments that McKibben makes, in my opinion, has to do with the matter of "choice," an issue with which libertarians are always concerned. Libertarian-minded thinkers tend to be among the strongest advocates of modern technologies and tend to believe that the free market will police itself in regard to any dangers which may result from their use.
More often than not, libertarians accuse those who oppose or may merely question the effects of new technologies of being Luddites, a name attributed to that infamous group of early nineteenth century workers who protested against the introduction of new labor-saving technologies in the factories of that period.
But McKibben argues that some of these new biotechnologies are really "anti-choice." He points out that "In widespread use, they will first rob parents of their liberty, and then strip freedom from every generation that follows. In the end, they will destroy forever the very possibility of meaningful choice."
I think that's a point that needs to be thoughtfully and seriously considered, especially by those who are, like I am, more or less on the libertarian side of the socio-political spectrum.
McKibben is not a naive thinker. He realizes that there is no limit to human aspirations or desires. And our ability to discover new scientific facts and to invent new technologies seems unlimited. But can we draw a line and say this far and no further? Can we say, this is enough? The author answers yes, and argues that only by staying human can we find true meaning in our lives. What sets a human being apart from other beings in this world of ours? McKibben argues that it is our power of self-limitation. "We need to do an unlikely thing," he says. "We need to survey the world we now inhabit and proclaim it good. Good enough."
While allowing that many of these new technologies may hold the promise to cure disease and provide other benefits, they also offer problematic choices such as the capacity to choose a child's gender, the power to boost human intelligence and, what may be the nightmare of all nightmares, the option of "improving" or "perfecting" human beings. And, I have always argued and will continue to do so: just because we can do something does not mean it is something we should do or need to do. I find myself having to agree with McKibben when he concludes, "I think the stakes in this argument are absurdly high, nothing less than the meaning of being human. Must we forever grow in reach and power? Or can we, should we, ever say,'Enough'?" Maybe so, maybe in this case, maybe at this time.
This is a book that should be read by everyone who is concerned about the future of the human species.
