Voulan said:
Heronblade said:
You don't get it do you? Cybernetic augmentation is a direct result of biomedical research, the two are one and the same. The first and foremost reason for cybernetics is in terms of fixing medical problems such as blindness or muscular dystrophy. The fact that it can be used for so much more is just a bonus.
In addition, there are only two methods on the table to reliably cure/prevent cancer, heavy genetic modification, or cybernetic modification. There is no other prospective method that has a good chance of reliably solving our body's tendency to turn cannibal on us.
As for the rest, speaking as someone who tinkers often, my hands have never been good enough. Not nearly enough precision and too little grip among other things. I can indeed counter some of these problems if I have the perfect tool for the task at hand, but that approach requires multiple times my body mass in specialized equipment, much of which is awkward and slow to use. The right tool also never seems to be around when needed.
And as for my eyes, every couple of days I get up and jam bits of polymer onto them. I do this because I (for some incredibly weird reason) don't like wandering around in a mostly blind haze as nature apparently intended. I can also tell you that even with perfect vision, we are all missing out. There is an incredible world out there that we will never see for ourselves, simply because a low quality nonadjustable camera feed covering less than 3.5x10^-26%, or 0.0000000000000000000000000035% of the light spectrum was "good enough" for our evolutionary path.
That's getting creepily into the very territory Deus Ex explores as a central theme. The title is Latin for "god of the machine" which refers directly to the terrible endings of ancient Greek plays where a god played by an actor would be lowered onto the stage by a machine and would solve all the problems in one go; but if we take the term literally, as the game does, it refers to the almost worship-like view people have of technology. They wish to turn themselves into gods through machine implants, and view technology as a god-like entity capable of perfecting people. Wanting to be perfect and spurning the natural body is exactly that. It is hardly more worse than other animal bodies, but because people have this bizarre desire for constant progression and domination of nature (and the subversive self, and here the whole mind/body split debate comes in), being human is no longer good enough. Which in turn opens up a whole debate about the fear of devolution or being taken over by another species, and the body being seen as basic and instinctive, animal and driven by emotions, which is an extremely old fashioned view.
Anyway, this very debate is ongoing constantly. I still stand by the 'only when I am in desperate need of assistance' view; my daily grind hardly requires beyond-necessary vision to go to a supermarket or something. It's also a fear of identity, really. Are you human if you don't have human parts? Is being a human a bad thing? If my body is composed of parts created by corporations that can power off my body due to bad security or monetary issues, then who has the real right of ownership of myself? Where am I in this machine? Better to just stick with what you know to not have that kind of horrible confusion.
A more accurate translation of the phrase deus ex machina is actually "god from an artifice", but that's rather beside the point.
Discounting the issues that are present in that fictional world but would not be present in the reasonably handled real life scenario (namely the drug dependencies and ability to hack people's minds en masse), the only significant problem explored by Deus Ex is ultimately social. The ability to go past normal human limitations will change human society, and there inevitably will be conflict over the issue, mostly in terms of ethical arguments between people like you and me. However, you know what? We'll adapt, and fairly quickly, as we have to every major upheaval to daily life humanity has lived through.
Concerning that opinion of human nature, the viewpoint that the human body is somehow precious or special compared to that of other animals is actually much older by far. It is also far less accurate. Base instinct plays a huge role in our day to day lives. From the fact that males I do not know have a hard time looking me in the eye to the tendency of our young to be barely controllable showoffs.
Bear in mind however, I do not advocate the use of such tech without quite stiff regulations. The average Joe does not need to be able to punch through walls or have a rocket launcher shoulder attachment. The potential problems with faulty/hackable tech must also be avoided. I do advocate adjustments that are not strictly necessary, but nonetheless can significantly improve life. Supporting/replacing my eyes for instance. Do I strictly need to do anything of the sort? No, while they are defective, the problems can be managed without too many issues. but on the other hand, doing so would be a major asset for my job, and would also improve my enjoyment of life. So, with that in mind, why not?
As for your questions:
Are you human if you don't have human parts?
-I define humanity in terms of one's mind, not this lump of meat supporting said mind, so my answer is yes, almost no matter what modifications are made. However, even going by a definition requiring that there be no mechanical parts whatsoever, an augmented human is still a sophont that deserves the same basic respect as any other person.
Is being a human a bad thing?
-no, but there's nothing wrong with choosing not to stick to the original human model either.
If my body is composed of parts created by corporations that can power off my body due to bad security or monetary issues, then who has the real right of ownership of myself?
-don't be dumb enough to let someone else own your body parts and you won't have to ask yourself that. Personally, I'd make the leasing of installed cybernetics illegal anyways (at least in terms of primary components, plug-n-play type modules that can be removed with no ill effects are a different matter)
Where am I in this machine?
-Where are you in your biological body?
I wanna feel like a cybernetic sorcerer, able to conjure fire from my fingers, and have brain power able to handle any natural or un-natural disaster. 
