Afterword to the Story of Man in the Context of the Development of Biotechnology

Abstract

The proposed article focuses on the possible consequences for the human in the context of the biotechnology development. Major findings in this field are presented, which are problematized first of all from the point of view of the erosion of morality through the instrumentalization of man and his body, through the undermining of the principles of egalitarianism and reciprocity in modern Western societies and through the hypothesis that the enhancement of human corporeality will lead to unpredictable answers to the question of the meaning of human existence and of the relation to the other. The existing national and supranational legal restrictions on genetic engineering and their corrosion under the pressure of the scientific communities and in general as a result of the progress in the field of biotechnology are examined. As a main methodological tool, the article uses the analyzes of Jürgen Habermas and Francis Fukuyama, developed in their classic works: “The Future of Human Nature” and “Our Posthuman Future”, but goes beyond their framework, problematizing the failure of both humanitarian discourses and of legal regulations to place limits on biotechnological research that affects not just the treatment of the human body but the future of human moral communities.