포스트휴머니즘과 인간 교육: 샌델(M. Sandel)의 선물론(Theory of Giftedness)을 중심으로

Today the discourses of humanities and social sciences are divided into the ideas of human and posthuman, humanism and posthumanism, and human education and human enhancement. This paper examines the importance of humanism and human education in the educational view point. It first introduces a brief topography of increasing studies of posthumanism in educational research and practice. In relation to this, human enhancement, distinguished from the traditional human education, is emphasised as an instrument to shift the idea of human into posthuman that is supported by NBIC (Nano‧Bio‧Information Technology, Cognitive Science). This paper argues that human enhancement assumes a hypothetical image of so-called better human being and supports the controversial ideology of liberal eugenics which is against the basic principle of human education. This paper examines the theory of giftedness by M. Sandel in defence of the Bio-conservative with J. Habermas, and F. Fukuyama. Sandel rejects the idea of human enhancement in his book The Case against Perfection (2009) for three reasons: the erosion of fairness, undermining of autonomy and equality, and distorting human nature. He instead highlights humility, responsibility and solidarity as fundamental virtues of life. Human education, in its philosophy, emphasizes the fact that life is given to us beyond our control. Sandel suggests that we should move away from the desire to design, control and conquer human being as it may become a habit of mind which causes a irreversible change of our understanding of human being, otherwise.