Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5613/rzs.42.1.3
Cyborgs and “Custom-made Babies” 2.0: Acceptance of Posthuman Life Conceptions in Croatian Society
Krunoslav Nikodem
; Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Brstilo
; Department of Sociology, Croatian Catholic University, Croatia
Abstract
Development of contemporary biotechnology and bioscience is opening many possibilities, questions and controversies, not only in the sense of broader social, cultural and economic changes, but largely in the sense of human identity construction and determination criteria for human beings. This paper is based on the theories of posthumanism, transhumanism and bioconservativism. In the empirical sense it is based on the results of a survey that was conducted during the year 2009 on the representative sample of Croatian adult citizens (N = 1000). “Cyborg” and “custom-made baby” are analyzed in this paper, as two conceptions of posthuman life. The general hypothesis is that these conceptions of posthuman life will not be accepted, mainly because of the traditional socio-cultural context in Croatian society. Furthermore, several working hypotheses are proposed. Results have confirmed the general hypothesis; however most of the working hypotheses were not confirmed.
Keywords
posthuman; posthumanism; transhumanism; bioconservativism; cyborg; “custom-made baby”
Hrčak ID:
89219
URI
Publication date:
30.4.2012.
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