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Published on Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject (http://www2.evergreen.edu/fashioningthebody)

e-Coupus, Week 7, #1

By Calvin
Created 10 Nov 2007 - 12:08pm
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At what point does the body stop being a human body and become a machine?  The Oxford American Dictionary states that a cyborg is “fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body.”  But I disagree with that I consider a cyborg to be and human body that is augmented with electronic components, that enhance its performance.  Which for me begs the question at what point does a body become a machine with organic human components vs. a highly augmented human body?  Should it be done by prestige, so that if  a body is comprised of lets say, 60-70% of synthetic materials, is it then a machine rather than human?  Or should different organs be waited, so still having a human brain worth more points than say a kidney.  I’m not saying that is the best way to do it but it seams that it would be beneficial to come up with some boundaries of how fare we should augment the human body and have it still considered human.

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http://www2.evergreen.edu/fashioningthebody/fashioningthebody/how-much-can-we-augment-the-human-body-and-still-be-human