Chiara Gatti’s research while affiliated with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and other places

The issue of disability represents a test case for the sustainability, practical and theoretical, of transhumanist theories that lead to the advent of a posthuman era. In fact, dealing with mankind implies also the possibility that man has a disability. So, seeing whether, in the posthuman debate, persons with disability are respected, will show us if every man is respected. In this paper we start by analyzing the definition of disability given by the posthuman theorists. As we will see, this definition is deficient because it is strictly linked with the transhumanists' refusal of the distinction between therapeutic treatment and enhancement. The field of enhancement is very wide, and the moral judgment on it cannot be generalized. Nowadays, many developments made possible by human enhancement theories remain only speculated upon. However, those theories are already influential in the field of studying the beginning of life. Indeed, the possibility "to choose children" is real: here the issue of disability is decisive and the risk of discrimination is very high. So, looking at the issue of disability will allow us to explore the ethical weight of the post-human project. In the background, it will be possible to glimpse the question of what is the essence of man, an issue not considered enough in the post-human debate. On the contrary, it is a fundamental question which should be answered before proceeding to a substantial alteration of humanity.