Abstract

This chapter defends the relevance of four themes central to Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics for debates about bio-medical enhancement. First, I expose some of the hidden assumptions and “prejudices” motivating certain discussions of bio-medical enhancement in order to avoid platitudes and thus engage a more rigorous philosophical approach. I then provide a brief history of hermeneutics, which derives its names from Hermes, the messenger bridging the distance between gods and humans, that defends the importance of “finitude” as feature crucial to the human condition that proves salient for discussions about enhancement. Next, I argue that “equilibrium,” the state of balance between two opposing forces, is an apt way to describe the human condition of mortals who strive after immortality. I close by examining one more assumption underlying the ethics of enhancement: namely, thinking that experts are the ones who can and should solve our problems. A hermeneutic approach recommends a “dialogue” amongst peers over a panel of experts.