The Prudential Rationality of Radical Cognitive Enhancement

The debate in the philosophical literature regarding human enhancement has largely focused on whether or not enhancement is moral. I take a different approach, examining not the morality of enhancement, but rather whether it promotes or undermines human interests. I argue that, from the perspective of prudential rationality, small degrees of enhancement promote our interests, but enhancements of a sufficiently large degree are likely to undermine them. Radical enhancement is likely to undermine our relationships with other human beings and our ability to form and fulfil our life plans. I argue that, although radical enhancement would benefit us in some ways, the value we place on our relationships and our life plans gives rise to pro tanto prudential reasons to reject radical enhancement.