Health Culture and The Human Body

Advances in science-based medicine have greatly increased the range of applications to the body and mind of human beings, blurring the boundaries between what is to be considered a state of health or illness. A large number of interventions already have a distinguished history, such as organ transplants, pharmacological enhancement, plastic surgery, etc. Other developments, such as delaying the process of aging by manipulating the molecular markers on our DNA, so far remain promises (or threats?) for the future. In this regard this book focuses on ethical, historical and epidemiological perspectives on medical interventions into the healthy/diseased human body in mid-life, including issues such as enhancement, surgical interventions, and the ethics of transhumanism.