Trevor Stammers

Harnessing the power of technology to determine who we shall be and turn ourselves into creatures of our own design is something which is highly celebrated by those who subscribe to a Transhumanist philosophy and want to pursue a distinctly posthuman future. The desire for morphological freedom (the freedom to be whoever you wish to be) runs central to this vision, but often with little real consideration of the implications for collective normative behaviour and wider society. What would it mean for posthumans and humans to live alongside one another? Taking Martin Heidegger’s idea of enframing and applying it to how we perceive and relate to the human body, this chapter seeks to explore this question and what it could mean for relationships. Some have called for a socialised proactionary approach to risk to be followed, as opposed to a more precautionary approach, in order to help realise a posthuman future. The chapter argues that such an approach may present a way forward that keeps in healthy tension our attitude to risks with what makes us distinctively human and how we relate to one another.

This chapter aims to raise the profile of organ trafficking among the academic community researching human trafficking in general. It explains how the various elements of organ trafficking are defined and how they relate to and differ from transplant tourism and organ markets. Some of the most important international declarations on organ trafficking are outlined, as well as some selective national legislation. Shifting global patterns of organ trafficking will be illustrated with an emphasis on India, Pakistan, Nepal and China. Some of the difficulties in curbing such trafficking are considered before outlining recommendations for increasing effective prevention, improving prosecution of perpetrators, and offering protection and support for victims.

As the demand for organs begins to outstrip availability and waiting lists surge, the pressure to make morally questionable, unethical decisions becomes more likely and trust in transplant medicine starts to erode. The complex ethical web that constitutes this worldwide trade in organs and tissues is analysed by former health professional and medical ethics expert, Trevor Stammers. Key philosophical questions concerning existence, consciousness, and the right to life, connect organ donation and transplantation to real-life case studies including brain death in living patients, legal euthanasia, the creation of human-animal hybrids and organoids, alongside extreme examples of systematic murder driving under-regulated trade. Controversial cases from Japan, Germany, and Singapore are analysed alongside the Spanish, Welsh, and Brazilian experience of transplant opt-out schemes to highlight the variety of threats and challenges to public trust in transplant medicine. Charting these examples provides vital material for debates and discussions in the philosophy of medicine, and medical ethics more generally, with Stammers suggesting viable alternatives to current ethical failings by focusing on the moral arguments that define public trust, moving the debate on transplant ethics in vital new directions.

Organ trafficking in all its various forms is an international crime which could be entirely eliminated if healthcare professionals refused to participate in or be complicit with it. Types of organ trafficking are defined and principal international declarations and resolutions concerning it are discussed. The evidence for the involvement of healthcare professionals is illustrated with examples from South Africa and China. The ways in which healthcare professionals directly or indirectly perpetuate illegal organ transplantation are then considered, including lack of awareness, the paucity of both undergraduate and postgraduate education on organ trafficking, turning a blind eye, advocacy of organ commercialism, and the lure of financial gain.

Is it possible, ethically speaking, to create posthuman and transhuman persons from a religious perspective? Who is responsible for post and transhuman creation? Can post and transhuman persons be morally accountable? Addressing such pressing ethical questions around post and transhuman creation, this volume considers the philosophical and theological arguments that define and stimulate contemporary debate. Contributors consider the full implications of creating post and transhuman beings by highlighting the role of new technologies in shaping new forms of consciousness, as well as the role the generators of post and transhuman beings play in such creation. They ask, what the relative power of such generators is, both in terms of society and in terms of their relationship to their creations. Appreciating how the lived realities of such beings will be constructed and legitimised in contemporary society adds further breadth to the wide-ranging consequences of post and transhuman creation explored. The collection's interdisciplinary approach traverses the philosophical writings of Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, alongside theological considerations from the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions, inviting academics, faith leaders, policy makers, and practitioners to think through the ethical gamut of generating post and transhuman beings.