Are bacteriophage T4 and the long-nosed elephant fish valuable in their own right? Agar defends an affirmative answer to this question by arguing that anything living is intrinsically valuable. The result is a challenge to prevailing definitions of value and a call for a scientifically-informed appreciation of nature.
An argument that achieving millennial life spans or monumental intellects will destroy values that give meaning to human lives. Proposals to make us smarter than the greatest geniuses or to add thousands of years to our life spans seem fit only for the spam folder or trash can. And yet this is what contemporary advocates of radical enhancement offer in all seriousness. They present a variety of technologies and therapies that will expand our capacities far beyond what is currently possible for human beings. In Humanity's End, Nicholas Agar argues against radical enhancement, describing its destructive consequences. Agar examines the proposals of four prominent radical enhancers: Ray Kurzweil, who argues that technology will enable our escape from human biology; Aubrey de Grey, who calls for anti-aging therapies that will achieve “longevity escape velocity”; Nick Bostrom, who defends the morality and rationality of enhancement; and James Hughes, who envisions a harmonious democracy of the enhanced and the unenhanced. Agar argues that the outcomes of radical enhancement could be darker than the rosy futures described by these thinkers. The most dramatic means of enhancing our cognitive powers could in fact kill us; the radical extension of our life span could eliminate experiences of great value from our lives; and a situation in which some humans are radically enhanced and others are not could lead to tyranny of posthumans over humans.
The transformative potential of genetic and cybernetic technologies to enhance human capabilities is most often either rejected on moral and prudential grounds or hailed as the future salvation of humanity. In this book, Nicholas Agar offers a more nuanced view, making a case for moderate human enhancement -- improvements to attributes and abilities that do not significantly exceed what is currently possible for human beings. He argues against radical human enhancement, or improvements that greatly exceed current human capabilities. Agar explores notions of transformative change and motives for human enhancement; distinguishes between the instrumental and intrinsic value of enhancements; argues that too much enhancement undermines human identity; considers the possibility of cognitively enhanced scientists; and argues against radical life extension. Making the case for moderate enhancement, Agar argues that many objections to enhancement are better understood as directed at the degree of enhancement rather than enhancement itself. Moderate human enhancement meets the requirement of truly human enhancement. By radically enhancing human cognitive capabilities, by contrast, we may inadvertently create beings ("post-persons") with moral status higher than that of persons. If we create beings more entitled to benefits and protections against harms than persons, Agar writes, this will be bad news for the unenhanced. Moderate human enhancement offers a more appealing vision of the future and of our relationship to technology.
The rapid developments in technologies — especially computing and the advent of many 'smart' devices, as well as rapid and perpetual communication via the Internet — has led to a frequently voiced view which Nicholas Agar describes as 'radical optimism'. Radical optimists claim that accelerating technical progress will soon end poverty, disease, and ignorance, and improve our happiness and well-being. Agar disputes the claim that technological progress will automatically produce great improvements in subjective well-being. He argues that radical optimism 'assigns to technological progress an undeserved pre-eminence among all the goals pursued by our civilization'. Instead, Agar uses the most recent psychological studies about human perceptions of well-being to create a realistic model of the impact technology will have. Although he accepts that technological advance does produce benefits, he insists that these are significantly less than those proposed by the radical optimists, and aspects of such progress can also pose a threat to values such as social justice and our relationship with nature, while problems such as poverty cannot be understood in technological terms. He concludes by arguing that a more realistic assessment of the benefits that technological advance can bring will allow us to better manage its risks in future.
We face an emerging range of technologies that can be applied to our human natures with the goal of enhancing us. There are nootropic smart drugs and gene editing that influence the development of the brain. The near future promises cybernetic technologies that can be grafted onto our brains and bodies. The challenge for readers of Dialogues on Human Enhancement is to decide how to respond to these and other coming enhancement technologies. As you read these dialogues you will meet passionate advocates for a variety of responses to enhancement tech, ranging from blanket rejection to ecstatic endorsement. You’ll encounter Olen, for whom there is no such thing as too much enhancement. You’ll meet Winston, a bioconservative who fiercely but also imaginatively opposes any human enhancement. And there is the moderate Eugenie, who strives to distinguish between enhancement technologies that should and should not be accepted. As these characters philosophically engage with each other they will benefit from the supervisory presence of Sophie, the philosopher. Dialogues on Human Enhancement does not arrive at a single conclusion. Olen’s transhumanism, Eugenie’s moderation, and Winston’s bioconservatism are presented as viable and necessary views as we enter a future made uncertain by human enhancement tech. And the book also welcomes the voices of students, even – and especially – if they challenge the opinions of our age’s experts. As students join the conversations in this book, they will formulate their own views about how humanity could or should be in our Age of Human Enhancement.
An argument in favor of finding a place for humans (and humanness) in the future digital economy. In the digital economy, accountants, baristas, and cashiers can be automated out of employment; so can surgeons, airline pilots, and cab drivers. Machines will be able to do these jobs more efficiently, accurately, and inexpensively. But, Nicholas Agar warns in this provocative book, these developments could result in a radically disempowered humanity. The digital revolution has brought us new gadgets and new things to do with them. The digital revolution also brings the digital economy, with machines capable of doing humans' jobs. Agar explains that developments in artificial intelligence enable computers to take over not just routine tasks but also the kind of “mind work” that previously relied on human intellect, and that this threatens human agency. The solution, Agar argues, is a hybrid social-digital economy. The key value of the digital economy is efficiency. The key value of the social economy is humanness. A social economy would be centered on connections between human minds. We should reject some digital automation because machines will always be poor substitutes for humans in roles that involve direct contact with other humans. A machine can count out pills and pour out coffee, but we want our nurses and baristas to have minds like ours. In a hybrid social-digital economy, people do the jobs for which feelings matter and machines take on data-intensive work. But humans will have to insist on their relevance in a digital age.
In this provocative book, philosopher Nicholas Agar defends the idea that parents should be allowed to enhance their children’s characteristics. Gets away from fears of a Huxleyan ‘Brave New World’ or a return to the fascist eugenics of the past Written from a philosophically and scientifically informed point of view Considers real contemporary cases of parents choosing what kind of child to have Uses ‘moral images’ as a way to get readers with no background in philosophy to think about moral dilemmas Provides an authoritative account of the science involved, making the book suitable for readers with no knowledge of genetics Creates a moral framework for assessing all new technologies
Stinkhorns, puffballs, the "corpse finder, " deadly galerina, Satan's bolete, birch conks, black mold, the old man of the woods--this wonderful tour explores the mysterious world of mushrooms, molds and fungi lying unnoticed right at our feet. 12 halftones. 30 line illustrations.
This well-illustrated book allows anyone with common sense, a clean kitchen, and a closet shelf to grow bumper crops of mushrooms. Besides step-by-step guides to cultivating four species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, the book offers a wealth of additional information, including an introduction to mushroom biology, a resource guide for supplies, advice on discreetly integrating psychedelic mushrooms into outdoor gardens, and insights into the traditional use of psilocybins in sacred medicine. Also included are appendices with a summary of all included recipes.
This well-illustrated book allows anyone with common sense, a clean kitchen, and a closet shelf to grow bumper crops of mushrooms. Besides step-by-step guides to cultivating four species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, the book offers a wealth of additional information, including an introduction to mushroom biology, a resource guide for supplies, advice on discreetly integrating psychedelic mushrooms into outdoor gardens, and insights into the traditional use of psilocybins in sacred medicine. Also included are appendices with a summary of all included recipes.
An Exquisite Seasonal Tasting Menu from the Heart of South Philly Laurel, the first book from restaurateur and Top Chef winner Nicholas Elmi, promises to be as engrossing and delicious as its restaurant namesake, a culinary stronghold in South Philly. Elmi's French background and training informed Laurel from the start, but Laurel is a true American restaurant with a modern feel. The acclaimed nine-course tasting menu is unmatched in Philadelphia. Elmi does seasonality just right. Fall brings Apple-Yuzu Consommé, Marinated Trout Roe, and Bitter Greens. Winter serves up Bourbon-Glazed Grilled Lobster, Crunchy Grains, and Apple Blossom, Spring is evidenced by Black Sea Bass, Peas, and Rhubarb Summer is distilled in Marigold-Compressed Kohlrabi, Buckwheat, and Cured Egg. The book is also a letter of gratitude to the restaurant's suppliers, whose work colors every dish they serve. Each chapter is a full nine-course tasting menu with accompanying cocktail, and almost as delicious on the page as the meal itself.
Perfect for: Students of Nursing, Medicine and Health Professions. Clinicians in Nursing, Medicine and Health Professions. Educators in Nursing, Medicine and Health Professions. Benefits: The only Australian medical dictionary. Receive free access to the dictionary's online resources. Over 30 medical and health specialties covered. Over 39,000 entries, plus enyclopedic entries of significant terms. Over 50 new drug entries. High quality images and tables. Widely used by students, educators and professionals, Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions, 3rd Edition is the definitive reference text for Australian and New Zealand regions. Harris, Nagy and Vardaxis’ Mosby’s Dictionary, 3rd Edition delivers more than 1,100 new and revised definitions, more than 50 new drug entries, and a total of 74 new and updated tables for key reference information to complement definitions. As the only Australian medical dictionary, you also benefit from context-specific information written in local spelling conventions alongside phonetic pronunciation guides throughout Harris, Nagy and Vardaxis’ reference book. Enhance your knowledge base with an array of free online content, which supplements Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions, 3rd Edition. Make the most of the online regionalised spellchecker, five comprehensive appendices and an extensive image collection that can be viewed offline, including a printable colour atlas of human anatomy. over 39,000 clear, precise entries, plus encyclopaedic entries of significant terms over 2000 high quality images and the apt use of tables to demonstrate and clarify more than 30 medical and health specialties represented a detailed colour atlas of anatomy, enhancing the comprehension of anatomical terms local spelling conventions and phonetic pronunciation guides throughout fully revised etymologies comprehensive entries for numerous drugs valuable appendices, including normal laboratory values for adults and children, units of measurement, nutrition guidelines, assessment guides, immunisation schedules, infection control and herb-drug interactions Evolve Resources Online Features: free access to all online resources regionalised spellchecker printable colour atlas of human anatomy image collection offers all images for online viewing 5 comprehensive appendices over 50 new drug entries over 1,100 new and revised definitions a total of 74 new and updated tables providing key reference information to supplement definitions revised and updated materials throughout as well as many new terms, tables and illustrations to ensure currency and relevance updates of all appendices
What does nothing sound like? An offbeat history of John Cage’s 4’33”, a musical composition of blank bars, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka. One night in 1952, master pianist David Tudor took the stage in a barnlike concert hall called the Maverick. A packed audience waited with bated breath for him to start playing. Little did they know that the performance had already begun. A rain patters. A tree rustles. An audience stirs. David was performing John Cage’s 4’33”, whose purpose is to amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That shocking first performance earned 4’33” plenty of haters; and yet the piece endures, “performed” by the smallest garage bands and the grandest symphonies alike, year after year. Its fans hear what John Cage hoped we would hear: “Nothing” is never silent, and you don’t need a creative genius, a concert hall, or even a piano to hear something worthwhile. All you have to do is stop and listen. Nicholas Day’s text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor, warm and refined; two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka’s childlike pencil-on-watercolor artwork is uninhibited and electrifying, with all the visionary spirit of the work it chronicles. Guaranteed to spark generative thought and lively debate among readers of all ages, Nothing is not to be missed. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
This comprehensive text provides the reader with both a detailed reference and a unified course on wastewater treatment. Aimed at scientists and engineers, it deals with the environmental and biological aspects of wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.The book starts by examining the nature of wastewaters and how they are oxidized in the natural environment. An introductory chapter deals with wastewater treatment systems and examines how natural principles have been harnessed by man to treat his own waste in specialist reactors. The role of organisms is considered by looking at kinetics, metabolism and the different types of micro-organisms involved. All the major biological process groups are examined in detail, in highly referenced chapters; they include fixed film reactors, activated sludge, stabilization ponds, anaerobic systems and vegetative processes. Sludge treatment and disposal is examined with particular reference to the environmental problems associated with the various disposal routes. A comprehensive chapter on public health looks at the important waterborne organisms associated with disease, as well as removal processes within treatment systems. Biotechnology has had an enormous impact on wastewater treatment at every level, and this is explored in terms of resource reuse, biological conversion processes and environmental protection. Finally, there is a short concluding chapter that looks at the sustainability of waste water treatment. The text is fully illustrated and supported by over 3000 references./a
Water has become one of the most important issues of our time intertwined with global warming and population expansion. The management of water supplies and the conservation of water resources remains one of the most challenging yet exciting issues of our time. Water and wastewater treatment technologies are constantly evolving creating an increasingly sustainable industry that is one of the world's largest and most interdisciplinary sectors, employing chemists, microbiologists, botanists, zoologists as well as engineers, computer specialists and a range of different management professionals. This accessible student textbook introduces the reader to the key concepts of water science and technology by explaining the fundamentals of hydrobiology, aquatic ecosystems, water treatment and supply, wastewater treatment and integrated catchment management. This fourth edition is extensively changed throughout, with new coverage of the effects of climate change, environmental assessment, sustainability and the threat to biodiversity. The text serves as a primer for both undergraduate and graduate students in either science or engineering who have an interested in freshwater biology/hydrobiology or environmental engineering. It is also useful as a unified transitional course for those who want to span the traditional areas of engineering, biology, chemistry, microbiology or business. Professionals and consultants will also find the book a useful reference.
In recent decades we have come to realize that the microbial world is hugely diverse, and can be found in the most extreme environments. Fungi, single-celled protists, bacteria, archaea, and the vast array of viruses and sub-viral particles far outnumber plants and animals. Microbes, we now know, play a critical role in ecosystems, in the chemistry of atmosphere and oceans, and within our bodies. The field of microbiology, armed with new techniques from molecular biology, is now one of the most vibrant in the life sciences. In this Very Short Introduction Nicholas P. Money explores not only the traditional methods of microscopy and laboratory culture but also the modern techniques of genetic detection and DNA sequencing, genomic analysis, and genetic manipulation. In turn he demonstrates how advances in microbiology have had a tremendous impact on the areas of medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
From the difficult to diagnose to the difficult to treat, Manson’s Tropical Diseases prepares you to effectively handle whatever your patients may have contracted. Featuring an internationally recognized editorial team, global contributors, and expert authors, this revised and updated medical reference book provides you with the latest coverage on parasitic and infectious diseases from around the world. Consult this title on your favorite e-reader, conduct rapid searches, and adjust font sizes for optimal readability. Incorporate the latest therapies into your practice, such as recently approved drugs and new treatment options. Find what you need easily and apply it quickly with highlighted key information, convenient boxes and tables, extensive cross-referencing, and clinical management diagrams. Make the most accurate Tropical Disease diagnoses through a completely redesigned and modernized format, which includes full-color images throughout. Apply the latest treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS, tropical neurology, malaria, and much more. Put the latest international expertise to work for you and your patients with new chapters covering Global Health; Global Health Governance and Tropical Diseases; Non-communicable Diseases; Obesity in the Tropics; and Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine in Resource-poor Settings. See which diseases are most prevalent in specific areas of the tropics through a new index of diseases by country, as well as online-only maps that provide additional detail. Better understand the variations in treatment approaches across the globe.
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