Abstract

In his famous essay, “The Abolition of Man,” C. S. Lewis argued that the use of science and technology to modify the human mind would destroy humanity. Some of the concerns Lewis raised are philosophically profound: Is it desirable for humans to modify their minds, and if so, in what ways? By what principles should such profound self-shaping be guided? Will “post-humanity” be freer or more enslaved? Is manipulating the core nature of humanity even rational? Since this essay was first written, it seems all the more likely that humans will someday have the ability to modify motivation, not by Lewis’s “eugenics,” “pre-natal conditioning,” and “education and propaganda based on a perfect applied psychology,” but by applied neuroscience, drugs, computerized implants, brain-machine interfaces, mind uploading, nanoscale devices, and other advanced technologies. This essay examines the issue of modifying motivations and answers some of Lewis’s concerns