important, however, is the understanding that
being human is being a person, regardless of bio-
physical parts or technological enhancements.
Because the future may require relative appreci-
ation of persons, today, if the ultimate criterion of
being human is that humans are only those who are
all natural, organic, and functional, being human
may not be so easy to determine. The purely natu-
ral human being may not exist anymore. The un-
derstanding that technology-supported life is
artificial and therefore is not natural stimulates dis-
cussions among practitioners of nursing (Locsin
and Campling, 2004), particularly when the subject
of concern is technology-dependent care and tech-
nology competency as an expression of caring in
nursing. Other than the theological perspective of-
fered by Hudson (1988) that “false comfort may be
offered whenever it is implied that this life and this
body are significantly less important than the ‘spir-
itual body’ and the ‘next life,’ it may be necessary to
appreciate the understanding that the time has
come to enhance an awareness of the posthuman or
spiritual future” (p. 13). What structural require-
ments will the posthuman possess? Today, there are
some human beings who have anatomic and/or
physiologic components that are already electronic
and/or mechanical; for example, mechanical car-
diac valves, self-injecting insulin pumps, cardiac
pacemakers, or artificial limbs, all appearing as ex-
cellent facsimiles of the real. Yet, the idea of a
“whole person” and being natural continues to per-
sist as a requirement of what a human being should
be (Figure 24–1).THE PROCESS OF KNOWING PERSONS
In appreciating persons as whole moment to mo-
ment, persons possess the prerogative and the
choice whether or not to allow nurses to know
them fully. Entering the world of the other is a382 SECTION IV Nursing Theory: Illustrating Processes of Development
Human
beings as
personsTechnological
competenceCaring in nursingFIGURE 24–1 Nursing as knowing persons.