Biotechnology, Human Enhancement, and African Ethics
2025-10-01 08:00 - 2025-10-02 17:00 (Europe/London)
Date/deadline: Monday, 30 June 2025

HOST: The Conversational School of Philosophy, University of Calabar, Nigeria. In collaboration with Transhumanists Africa, Inc., New York, USA.
ORGANIZERS:
Dr Amara E. Chimakonam (Centre for African Phenomenology, South Africa)
Dr Ademola K. Fayemi (Queensland Bioethics Centre, Australia)
Dr Ojochogwu Abdul (Transhumanists Africa, Inc., New York)
Dr Christiana N. Idika (Catholic University, Mainz, Germany)
DESCRIPTION
Advances in biotechnology, such as pharmaceutical intervention, genetic engineering, and implant technologies, have renewed interest in the human desire for improvement. For transhumanists, these advances suggest that it would become possible to modify, augment, and manipulate human biology using biotechnology to improve the human condition, which is vulnerable to disease, aging, and death beyond the species-typical limit. These biotechnologies would, for instance, directly modulate human cognitive and moral capacities, alter human genetic makeup, implant cybernetic chips in the human brain and attach prostheses to the human body.
Human bioenhancement has generated a lot of debate in Western philosophy and mainstream media for a long time. However, African ethics’ place, influence, and roles in evaluating and providing guidance for human biotechnological enhancement remain underexplored. This conference will gather a diverse group of academic researchers to examine the ethics of human biotechnological enhancement as well as the prospects and challenges of such enhancement from African ethical perspectives. Is biotechnological enhancement of human beings morally or ethically necessary? Should we limit ourselves to the traditional means of enhancing humans, such as education, diet and exercise? Or should we advance and use biotechnological means to augment our physical and mental capacities? Is human biotechnological enhancement beneficial to humanity? To what extent will human biotechnological enhancement impact global justice and existing deep-rooted global inequality? Can African ethics ground the argument for the human enhancement project? How will African conceptions of human nature, dignity and flourishing be challenged and changed by biotechnological human enhancement? Can the Afro-communitarian assumptions about personhood remain the same in a community shared by enhanced human beings? Will enhanced human beings have a higher moral status than (non-enhanced) human beings? We encourage contributions that will critically engage these questions and work towards developing ways of enhancing humans without transcending the species-typical limit and jeopardizing African moral values.
POSSIBLE TOPICS OF INTEREST INCLUDE (BUT ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO):
· Human bioenhancement and Afro-communitarianism
· Human bioenhancement and traditional African moral values
· Human bioenhancement and moral progressivism in Africa
· Human bioenhancement and African perspectives on human nature and dignity
· Human bioenhancement, aging and elderhood in Africa
· Human bioenhancement, global justice and human rights in Africa
· Enhanced beings and moral status
· Enhanced beings and African conceptions of personhood
· Human bioenhancement and African moral agency
· Moral bioenhancement, Genetic enhancement, Cognitive enhancement and African ethics
· Biotechnologies in Africa and African biotechnologies
· Biotechnology, African ethical guardrails and policies
· Intersection of biotechnology, human enhancement, and African ethics
· Biotechnology, politics and the African conditions
· Ethical benefits and consequences of human biotechnological enhancement in Africa
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Submissions are invited for consideration in the following categories:

Individual Abstract Submission: Multiple single-authored submissions by the same author are not encouraged. Quality single-authored (and non-multiple) submissions are prioritized.
Group Abstract Submission: Group submission should not exceed three authors. At least one of the authors is expected to attend the conference virtually to present the accepted abstract.

We invite abstracts of 150-300 words addressing the ethics of human bioenhancement, with a primary focus on Africa. All submissions should be written in English and present original works that have not been previously published or under consideration elsewhere. It should be prepared for blind review and sent to Amaraesther35@gmail.com, Copying: chogwuabdul@gmail.com
and christiana.idika@gmail.com by June 31, 2025. Please, your abstract should include your name, title, and institutional affiliation. Also, send us a 100-word short bio. In the subject header of your email, put: BHAE submission. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed. The notifications of acceptance will be sent by July 30, 2025. We plan to publish the conference outcome as an edited volume with Routledge.
CONFERENCE DATES
01-02 October 2025
REGISTRATION DETAILS
Registration is free for all conference participants.
LOCATION
· Online via Zoom
· Streamed Live via the Conversational School of Philosophy YouTube Channel
If you have any questions, please email Amaraesther35@gmail.com,
chogwuabdul@gmail.com
and christiana.idika@gmail.com.
