Abstract
Since the late 1990s, human science fields such as sociology and bioethics have been interested in “enhancement”, which can be defined as the effort to enhance and improve human cognitive abilities and motor performances by the use of biomedical technologies “beyond therapy”. In the field of sport sciences, extraordinary training methods, enhancement technology, doping and human body modification have led to a form of chaos due to the inability to tell right from wrong. From the viewpoint of medical sociology, we clarified the ideas of the normal, abnormal, pathologic, and anomaly, based on Canguilhem’s “Le normal et le pathologique” and showed that the normal/abnormal distinction is a culture-bound concept which cannot be free from social value. Secondly, we examined the ethical discussions on the enhancement of physical performances in the field of sports. We presented evidence which showed that the traditional arguments for the clear treatment/enhancement distinction cannot be a useful guideline for the current situation. Moreover, the contrast between the enhancement without effort and the virtue of achievement through the combination of efforts and natural gifts might not be sufficient. Our conclusion is that modern technology’s domination over human nature is the fundamental problem of enhancement and should be reconsidered.
