This is a topic of particular interest to me. I am blind in my left eye, and the vision in my right eye isn't faring too well either. I happen to know that they are working on a cybernetic eye that they say could be ready for human trials in about ten years.

I had once thought that I'd like to participate in such a study, but now, I've decided against doing so. The reason is that I feel the minute we start replacing our organs with mechanical parts is when we completely abandon the principles of humanity.

We could possibly extend our lives greatly, and even increase our abilities. However, I feel that the cost to our souls would be detrimental. Therefore, I would rather be blind than part machine.

Your thoughts?

In your case, since its an eye its a little different, that wont allow you to live longer, but it allows you to do things that non blind people can do, Its the same for hearing, and people who cant talk.
Since we can already get people who were deaf to hear, and people who cant talk to talk, then it shouldnt be to far off. I heard on the news that Bill Gates reckons we have the technology to already to give sight to the blind, it just hes being a bastard and wont put any time in to at this present time.

As for the organs part, we already have manmade hearts, and things like that. You have to remember tho, even tho you have a new part in you, doesnt mean that you will live longer, since the rest of your body is old.

Since Im not in your situation, I wont comment on what I would choose as I dont know myself.

Well, I don't see nothing wrong with that. Thanks to that you could see better, I have very weak eyes myself and it's getting worse with time, I think it could be fixed without such an cybernetic eye, but for some people that would be the only hope. What is the "soul" anyway? I don't think it has anything to do with our bodies, it's something we claim to have because of our minds. If someone would need help and the only rescue would be a machine-organ, why not help him? I don't think that would take away his soul or anything like that. Also I doubt that people will use cybernetic organs for another reason then curing seriously sick people. You can't extend life with them, because the whole organism is getting older, your cells die and stop regenerating at some point. The only cure for that would be mendling with genes, not installing machines in the body.

They have hearing aids. Your talking about aids here, not life enhancers. Replacing a failing organ or an eye will not extend your life but fulfill a gap in your lifespan that was originally supposed to be due to you. You are freaking out about this. Isaac Asimov called it the frankenstein effect, where people would assume the worst of technology they didn't understand. Ex: A humanoid robot is not going to do anything it is not programmed to, like hunt down humans for no apparent reason. The Sony Aibo robot dogs are not going to form wild packs and terrorize the streets. The only way to extend the human lifespan would be to convert over to full hardware. Fully robotic body, brain encased in a cyberbrain. One company is even working on a way to transfer the human mind and memory over to a hardware equivalent, and expects it to be possible by 2040. Only a fool hates that which he does not understand. Do not fear the chimera. Change is good.

As long as your brain is left intact, as long as you have total control of yourself, go ahead and get those needed implants. What is the use of humanity if it can't preserve itself... as long as it's not overrun by machines?

Nice topic bweb. I have often wondered about where to draw the line between humanity and machine. But aren't glasses eye aides? Although they are not robotic, they are not much different. They both help us make up what we have lost. Many old people are also relying pacemakers in their hearts to keep themselves alive. I think you should go ahead with it. You're not going to be any less human if you put on those cybernetics. It's up to you though because it's your body ^^ Also, you'll pave the way for future generations ^^

Quote by hongrboiNice topic bweb. I have often wondered about where to draw the line between humanity and machine. But aren't glasses eye aides? Although they are not robotic, they are not much different. They both help us make up what we have lost.

True, but glasses only restore what we lost. With cybernetic eyes come new possibilities.
"Well, we can also give you infrared or thermic vision, so you could see body heat, so you could learn to tell whenever someone was lying to you. We can give you night vision, so you wouldn't need lights to see in the dark."

Or limbs?

"Well, we can make your cybernetic limb much physically stronger than your old one that you lost."

Ears?
"We can not only restore your hearing, but give you hearing so acute, you would be able to hear a dog whistle."

And there are people who might go for such things. And when they did, they would be subverting their own humanity by saying they wanted to be superior to what they once were. And then it would only be a matter of time before such surgery was elective.
Once that happened, there would be a huge division between those who could afford cyberization and those who couldn't.

Plus, our body defines how we percieve ourself. If we don't look human, we will stop thinking of ourselves as human. This will cause a further rift between human and cyborg.

I see nothing wrong with cybernetic like implants. If i was going totally blind id want them. Trouble is the military will probably try to build some super cyborg human.

Well they could replace bones with steel ones for a while now, and some organs, such as hearts has also been replaced (taking into account that the heart is quite simple compared to say the lungs, the former being merely a finely tuned pump while the latter is a mass of soggy tissue, not unlike a fish's gills). How they will get the nerves to work together with unorganic material is beyond me, but a lot of things is and that doesn't stop it from working.

Someday, no doubt, laws will be passed (as with the whole cloning spectacle) to at least draw some kind of artificial line. I myself would rather leave it up to the person that actually needs it before I choose for him.

we are bio machines already, why can't we integrate a little technology along with our own... lets say the soul is bound to the body, but technology is only bound to the body parts ~ where is the problem?

I don't really see a problem either. It's your decision if you want that or not, but personally I'd take the eye. It's not like it's selling your soul or anything, you're just replacing something that doesn't work anymore. A SMALL something, not like a heart or anything.

I don't really see anything wrong with the cybernetic implant in your situation... it won't make you live any longer, or make you superhuman, and it isn't something you could do just perfectly fine without.

However, I do have a problem with perfectly well-off, healthy humans with too much money seeking immortality and to become more than human. For example, cybernetic arms that give super-strength, or cybernetic eyes that drastically improve sight, and things like that. You don't need that. It's okay to be human.

They're okay, though, for example, if a young child is dying of cancer--why do they have to die? If there was a way to save them, and to give them a normal life, then I'm all for that. If that way is through cybernetic implants, then fine. If there are people that need them, then I think we should use them.

Although, on a slightly darker note, and perhaps something to throw into the conversation--one of the reasons why overpopulation is becoming a problem is because people are finding ways to live longer, and new medicine and technology keeps getting developed to save people from previously deadly diseases, so since less humans are dying off of sickness, more humans are living on the earth, which as a result is killing the earth. And not to sound like a treehuggerhippienerd, but I don't see anyone developing cybernetic implants for trees. (Okay, maybe that's not really what I meant, but... y'know. ;D)

But I'm not against saving people. I think we all have the right to life. It's questionable, though, to what point do we preserve our own life?

I guess I'm somewhat of a fence-sitter on this subject.

Quote by bweb
"Well, we can also give you infrared or thermic vision, so you could see body heat, so you could learn to tell whenever someone was lying to you. We can give you night vision, so you wouldn't need lights to see in the dark."

Hmmm, never thought of it that way. I guess it now depends if you want the 'extras' or not. If you chose not to have those extras, I think it would be perfectly fine. Personally, I think having those extras would be cool. I don't really care about my humanity. If you were to chose those extras, then my opinion is undecided. If a person told me that they had something artificial with extras like that eye, I probably won't consider them any less human.