In his book Brave New World, published in 1932, Aldous Huxley predicted a big biotechnological revolution about to take place: the hatching of people not in wombs but in test tubes; the drug which gave people instant happiness; the sensation which was simulated by implanted electrodes; and modification of behavior through the administration of various artificial hormones.// With 70 years of separating us from the publication of this book, we can see that Huxley's technological predictions are surprisingly accurate. Many of the technologies that Huxley envisioned are already here or just over the horizon. But this revolution has only just begun.// According to Huxley, the most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a “posthuman” stage of history. This is important because human nature exists and defines us as a species with a stable continuity. It is what defines our most basic values.// Medical technology offers us in many cases a devil's bargain: longer life, but with reduced mental capacity; freedom from depression, together with freedom form creativity or spirit. It will blur the line between what we achieve on our own and what we achieve because of the levels of various chemicals in our brains.//

　　奧爾德斯.赫胥黎在其1932年出版的《奇妙新世界》一書中預(yù)言了一場即將發(fā)生的生物技術(shù)革命。赫胥黎預(yù)示：人類可以在試管里而不是在子宮里孕育;藥物可以即刻給人以快感，植入體內(nèi)的電極可以給人以刺激，輸入不同的人造荷爾蒙可以改變?nèi)说男袨椤?/此書問世70年后，我們看到赫胥黎對技術(shù)發(fā)展的預(yù)言是如此驚人的精確，所預(yù)言的許多技術(shù)已經(jīng)誕生或即將誕生。但這場革命還只是剛拉開了序幕。//赫胥黎認(rèn)為，當(dāng)代生物技術(shù)對人類構(gòu)成的最嚴(yán)重的威脅有可能改變?nèi)诵�，從而把我們帶入“后人類”的歷史階段。赫胥黎的預(yù)警很重要，因為人性確實存在，人性界定著我們這個具有穩(wěn)定延續(xù)性的物種，同時又界定著我們最基本的價值觀。//醫(yī)學(xué)技術(shù)在許多方面為我們提供了一種魔鬼交易：我們雖然延長了壽命，但是腦力卻減退了。我們雖可免患憂郁癥，但是也失去了創(chuàng)造力和靈氣。我們無法區(qū)分哪些成就是我們自身努力的成果，哪些成果是由我們大腦里的化學(xué)物質(zhì)造成的。//