Human Dignity and Bioethics

180 | Nick Bostrom
Greater Capacities
We can now begin our exploration of the relations between dignity
and enhancement. If we recall the features that Kolnai suggests are
associated with Dignity as a Quality—composure, distinctness, being
inaccessible to destructive or corruptive or subversive interference,
self-contained serenity, etc.—it would appear that these could
be promoted by certain enhancements. Consider, for example, enhancements
in executive function and self-control, in concentration,
or in our ability to cope with stressful situations; further, consider
enhancements of mental energy that would make us more capable
of independent initiative and that would reduce our reliance on external
stimuli such as television; consider perhaps also enhancement
of our ability to withstand mild pains and discomforts, and to more
effectively self-regulate our consumption of food, exercise, and sleep.
All these enhancements could heighten our Dignity as a Quality in
fairly direct and obvious ways.
Other enhancements might reduce our Dignity as a Quality. For
instance, a greatly increased capacity for empathy and compassion
might (given the state of this world) diminish our composure and
our self-contained serenity, leading to a reduction of our Dignity as
a Quality. Some enhancements that boost motivation, drive, or emotional
responsiveness might likewise have the effect of destabilizing a
dignified inner equilibrium. Enhancements that increase our ability
rapidly to adapt to changing circumstances could make us more susceptible
to “destructive or corruptive or subversive interference” and
undermine our ability to stand firm and quietly defy the world.
Some enhancements, therefore, would increase our Dignity as a
Quality, while others would threaten to reduce it. However, whether
a particular enhancement—such as a strongly amplified sensitivity
to others’ suffering—would in fact diminish our dignity depends
on the context, and in particular on the character of the enhanced
individual. A greatly elevated capacity for compassion is consistent
with an outstanding degree of Dignity as a Quality, provided that
the compassionate person has other mental attributes, such as a
firm sense of purpose and robust self-esteem, that help contain the
sympathetic perturbations of the mind and channel them into effective
compassionate action. The life of Jesus, as described in the