Roduit Johann A R, Eichinger Tobias, Glannon Walter
Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 30, 8006, Zürich, Switzerland.
Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Med Health Care Philos. 2018 Sep;21(3):287-293. doi: 10.1007/s11019-018-9831-4.
The ethics of human enhancement has been a hotly debated topic in the last 15 years. In this debate, some advocate examining science fiction stories to elucidate the ethical issues regarding the current phenomenon of human enhancement. Stories from science fiction seem well suited to analyze biomedical advances, providing some possible case studies. Of particular interest is the work of screenwriter Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne, In Time, and Good Kill), which often focuses on ethical questions raised by the use of new technologies. Examining the movie In Time (2011), the aim of this paper is to show how science fiction can contribute to the ethical debate of human enhancement. In Time provides an interesting case study to explore what could be some of the consequences of radical life-extension technologies. In this paper, we will show how arguments regarding radical life-extension portrayed in this particular movie differ from what is found in the scientific literature. We will see how In Time gives flesh to arguments defending or rejecting radical life-extension. It articulates feelings of unease, alienation and boredom associated with this possibility. Finally, this article will conclude that science fiction movies in general, and In Time in particular, are a valuable resource for a broad and comprehensive debate about our coming future.
在过去15年里，人类增强伦理一直是一个备受争议的热门话题。在这场辩论中，一些人主张通过审视科幻小说来阐明与当前人类增强现象相关的伦理问题。科幻小说似乎非常适合分析生物医学进展，能提供一些可能的案例研究。编剧安德鲁·尼科尔（《千钧一发》《西蒙妮》《时间规划局》和《善意杀戮》）的作品尤其值得关注，其作品常常聚焦于新技术应用引发的伦理问题。通过审视电影《时间规划局》（2011年），本文旨在展示科幻小说如何能为人类增强的伦理辩论做出贡献。《时间规划局》提供了一个有趣的案例研究，以探讨激进的寿命延长技术可能带来的一些后果。在本文中，我们将展示这部特定电影中描绘的关于激进寿命延长的论点与科学文献中的论点有何不同。我们将看到《时间规划局》如何使支持或反对激进寿命延长的论点变得具体可感。它阐述了与这种可能性相关的不安、疏离和无聊的感觉。最后，本文将得出结论，一般而言科幻电影，尤其是《时间规划局》，是就我们即将到来的未来展开广泛而全面辩论的宝贵资源。
