A History of Ideas29 Jan 2015

Surgeon Gabriel Weston on medical technology

Surgeons of the distant past were little more than skilled butchers, trying to minimise the agony of their bone-sawing craft. Surgery itself was a last-resort and one you might not survive, and if you did, one of many brutal contagious diseases might wipe you out instead.

But spool forward through history, past the growth in sanitation, inventions of anaesthesia, antibiotics, radiation therapy and the discovery of germ theory, and look at the world of the present-day medic. Safe, effective drug treatments are par for the course, and surgeons, operating in controlled, clinical environments, can count light-rays and robots-assistants alongside scalpels in their quiver of surgical instruments.

Clearly medical technology has come a long way. But along with changing how we look, how we think and how we live, have these developments changed who we are as a species? And are we heading in a positive direction?

The meteoric rise of elective, 'cosmetic' surgery is testament to the changing expectations we place on our bodies, but the idea of either drugging or cutting ourselves in pursuit of perfection leaves many feeling uneasy.

Not everyone feels this way however; 'transhumanists' believe that it's not just possible, but philosophically noble, to try to break through our biological limitations through drugs, genetic modification, or enhancement therapies. They believe the future of our species relies on actively pursuing the dream of 'Superintelligence, Superlongevity and Superhappiness'. But at what cost?

Surgeon Gabriel Weston looks at the past, present, and the weird and wonderful future of medicine to find the answer.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(60)

Theologian Giles Fraser on Moral character

How do you make good moral decisions when you have no time to make them? This is a question that troubled Giles Fraser after he met soldiers who had served in Afghantistan. The moral codes Giles had...

25 Nov 201411min

How Can I Tell Right From Wrong?

A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week the question is 'How...

24 Nov 201411min

Philosopher Angie Hobbs on Beauty and Morality

Philosopher Angie Hobbs is interested in Plato's idea that there is a relationship between beauty and morality. The idea that goodness is beautiful and evil things are ugly is written deep into our cu...

21 Nov 201411min

Historian Simon Schaffer on Beauty and Evolution

Historian of science Simon Schaffer is interested in the purpose of beauty within evolutionary explanations. Taking the ideas of Charles Darwin as his starting point, he wants to know how and why the ...

20 Nov 201412min

Vicky Neale on the Mathematics of Beauty

Mathematician Vicky Neale is keen to explain why mathematics is beautiful but also to work out whether beauty can itself be explained mathematically. There is a rich tradition of thought here going al...

19 Nov 201411min

Barry Smith on the Philosophy of Good Taste

Philosopher and wine enthusiast Barry Smith samples David Hume's theory of good taste. The 18th century Scottish philosopher argued that the appreciation of beauty was not easily arrived at - it requi...

18 Nov 201412min

Why Are Things Beautiful?

A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices.Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'Why are thi...

17 Nov 201411min

Neuroscientist Paul Broks on Free Will and the Brain

Paul Broks tackles an age-old philosophical argument over whether humans have free will or whether all events are pre-determined. As a neuroscientist he is interested in the latest info on how our bra...

14 Nov 201412min