Captain America

[Byzantine]

So I know transhumanism is wrong, but were Captain America's modifications morally impermissible? My guess was that they were actually acceptable, given that the serum only augmented what was already there instead of actually changing him. Get where I'm going with that?

[Ice_nine]

lol huh?

[kujo]

Is using HGH and other muscle-enhancing supplements morally permissible? The Super Soldier Serum is basically the same thing, though certainly on a far greater, and fictitious, level.

[Jaime]

I don't think they would let him in the NFL

[Laudate_Dominum]

I speculate that teh Pope would have approved.

[Not A Mallard]

Dude, it's science-fiction

[kujo]

[quote name='Not A Mallard' timestamp='1338122908' post='2435728']
Dude, it's science-fiction
[/quote]

Is it, though?

Do you think it's that far-fetched that the trillion dollar military industry in the US would dedicate significant research dollars towards the creation of some kind of drug that creates a sort of "super soldier/super human?" That's one of the things that I've always found so fascinating about Captain America--yes, he's clearly a work of fiction. But I can absolutely see his origin story as 100% real. Call it a different sort of Manhattan Project.

[Innocent]

While we're on this topic, we should also discuss the morality of the [i]Superhuman Registration Act.[/i]

[BigJon16]

Nerd(s).

[Winchester]

Use of hgh and steroids could be morally acceptable. If I could use small doses of hgh legally (and affordably), I certainly would. I would use performance enhancing drugs, were it not for the side-effects (and assuming decriminalization). Increasing intake of certain proteins and vitamins is morally acceptable, so why not products engineered using human reason?

[kujo]

[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][color=#000000]The issue belying the various superhu[/color][color=#000000]man/[/color][color=#000000]mutant [/color][color=#000000]registration acts that have appeared in co[/color][color=#000000]mics [/color][color=#000000]has generally been portrayed as analogical to the typical debate between the rights of the individual (i.e.- [/color][color=#000000]various civil liberties such as freedo[/color][color=#000000]m of expression[/color][color=#000000]) versus the rights of "society" (i.e.- national security) on the other. Essentially the question is whether the superpowered/[/color][color=#000000]mutated [/color][color=#000000]individual have an absolute "right" to their abilities, or does society--and their legiti[/color][color=#000000]mate order-enforcing ar[/color][color=#000000]m, the [/color][color=#000000]govern[/color][color=#000000]ment--[/color][color=#000000]have a vested interest in [/color][color=#000000]monitoring, or even [/color][color=#000000]constraining, them and their expression of those abilities? [/color]

[color=#000000]This answer presented in [/color][color=#000000]most co[/color][color=#000000]mic [/color][color=#000000]tends to favor the rights of the individual, since the outco[/color][color=#000000]me of these efforts to [/color][color=#000000][i]monitor[/i] inevitably lead to the govern[/color][color=#000000]ment [i]constraining[/i] the superhu[/color][color=#000000]mans/[/color][color=#000000]mutants in one for[/color][color=#000000]m or another. These acts are typically seen as both a[/color][color=#000000] harbinger and a justification for a more repressive climate for mutants, the argu[/color][color=#000000]ment being that their presence attracts the sort of chaotic, violent episodes riddled across the pages of our co[/color][color=#000000]mics, or our television and [/color][color=#000000]movie screens. Thus, given that the ends, at least in this fictitious world, seemingly involve instances of hate-cri[/color][color=#000000]mes and even genocide, it can be argued that these efforts aren't [/color][color=#000000]moral, since they serve as a precursor to great evils.[/color][/font][/size]

Edited May 27, 2012 by kujo

[kujo]

[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1338132585' post='2435759'][/font][/size]

[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Use of hgh and steroids could be morally acceptable. If I could use small doses of hgh legally (and affordably), I certainly would. I would use performance enhancing drugs, were it not for the side-effects (and assuming decriminalization). Increasing intake of certain proteins and vitamins is morally acceptable, so why not products engineered using human reason?[/font][/size]

[size=4][font="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"][/quote][/font][/size]

[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I tend to agree, with the caveats of cri[color=#000000]minality and protection against abuses of these substances. As with everything, balance and [/color][color=#000000]moderation is the key. Too [/color][color=#000000]much [/color][color=#000000]muscle is certainly as unhealthy as too much fat. There's no way to look at certain body-building grotesqueries without feeling a profound sense of revulsion. [/color][/font][/size]

Edited May 27, 2012 by kujo

[kujo]

:bump:

[Lil Red]

i actually just read a good book called "Amped" about this.

[kujo]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1338259955' post='2436856']
i actually just read a good book called "Amped" about this.
[/quote]

About efforts to monitor and regulate members of society with super powers and mutated genomes?