Nicholas Agar
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Nicholas Agar (born 1965) is a New Zealand professor of
ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
. Agar has a BA from the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
, an MA from the Victoria University of Wellington, and a PhD from the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
. He has been teaching at the
University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...
since 2022.


Work on human enhancement

Agar has written extensively on the ethics of
human enhancement Human enhancement is the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to enhance physical or mental capabilities. Technologies Existing technologies Three forms of human enhancement currently exist: reproductive ...
and
eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
. He wrote the 2004 book ''Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement'', in which he argued that a vigorous defense of procreative freedom could turn authoritarian eugenics into a morally defensible liberal eugenics. Agar argued that parents should be allowed to make genetic modifications to their children, as long these changes do not excessively limit the child’s ability to shape their own future. He believes that state interference should be minimal, except for banning harmful modifications. Agar's 2010 book ''Humanity's End'' argued against the doctrine of radical enhancement sometimes identified with the transhumanist movement. Agar claims that enhancement is a good thing that it is nevertheless possible to overdo. He advances a species-relativist view about the value of human experiences and achievements. In his 2013 book ''Truly Human Enhancement'' Agar defines "transformative change" as altering "the state of an individual's mental or physical characteristics in a way that causes and warrants a significant change in how that individual evaluates a wide range of their own experiences, beliefs, or achievements." He uses the movie ''
Invasion of the Body Snatchers ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American science-fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in 2.00:1 Superscope and in t ...
'' to illustrate transformative changes that we correctly predict we may endorse once we have undergone them but that conflict with our prudential values. In the film, humans are replaced by alien beings who share their memories and identities yet lack individual survival instincts and emotional depth. Similarly, Agar argues that, while we might anticipate contentment post-transformation, we may wisely reject radical enhancements, as they risk erasing essential qualities that define our humanity.


Work on technological change

In the 2015 book ''The Sceptical Optimist: Why Technology Isn't the Answer to Everything'' Agar challenges the view that great things will come from technological progress that will lead human flourishing. He describes a phenomenon called "hedonic normalization" that Agar claims leads us to significantly overestimate the power of technological progress to improve our well-being. According to Agar, we overlook hedonic normalization when we suppose that because we would be unhappy to find ourselves permanently transported back in time to the middle ages that people living back them must have been miserable too. The same distortions apply when we imagine a future with cures for cancer and colonies on Mars. Technological progress may make us happier but not nearly so much as we imagine it. Agar discusses the implications this has for our collective prioritization of technological progress. In a 2019 book ''How to be Human in the Digital Economy'' Agar addresses challenges posed by automation and
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
to human work and
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that s ...
. Agar argues for 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. Agar argues that we should reject some digital automation because machines will always be poor substitutes for humans in roles that involve direct contact with other humans. In a hybrid social-digital economy, people do the jobs for which feelings matter and machines take on data-intensive work.


Books

*''How to Think about Progress: A Skeptic's Guide to Technology'' co-written with Stuart Whatley and Dan Weijers (Springer, 2024) *''Dialogues on Human Enhancement'' (Routledge, 2024) *''How to be Human in the Digital Economy'' (MIT Press, 2019) *''The Sceptical Optimist: Why technology isn't the answer to everything'' (Oxford University Press, 2015) *''Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits'' (MIT Press, 2013) *''Humanity's End: Why We Should Reject Radical Enhancement'' (MIT Press, 2010) *''Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement'' (Wiley Blackwell, 2004) *''Perfect Copy'' (Icon, 2002) *''Life's Intrinsic Value'' (Columbia University Press, 2001)


References


External links


Agar's personal webpage

Review of Agar, N: 2013, 'Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits' ''Med Health Care and Philos''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agar, Nicholas 1965 births Living people 21st-century Australian academics Australian National University alumni 20th-century Australian philosophers 21st-century Australian philosophers Bioethicists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Australian eugenicists Australian transhumanists