Temporary Personal Augmentation Research Paper

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Temporary personal augmentation can be defined as the intentional act of augmenting one’s physical appearance, using temporary techniques such as makeup to enhance one's actual appearance, wearing clothes such as push-up brassieres, or computer software such as Adobe Photoshop to alter one's photos. These examples of temporary personal augmentation include physical and digital forms, and while the two forms are seemingly different, this paper will discuss how both forms are morally unacceptable. In this paper, the term “actual appearance” refers to how one would look without enhancements such as the temporary personal augmentations mentioned above. In comparison, permanent personal augmentation can be defined as the intentional act of augmenting …show more content…

Synonymously, Taoism suggests that the answer is moderation – where one can reach a natural state with less resistance in life and acceptance of one’s limits. (3) If moderation seems to be a positive and healthy cornerstone of Taoists and ancient Greek philosophers, then perhaps this is the answer for us. In the context of temporary personal augmentation, I believe that simply consulting the people one trusts (i.e. family and close friends) is sufficient to find a reasonable gauge for the amount of augmentation that is suitable. Taking this a little further, I would use the analogy of alcohol: some go drinking a glass of wine a day is purported to be healthy, but having an entire bottle a day most like is not. It is the same for just about everything; drinking too much water can lead to a condition called hypernatremia, or water intoxication, where sodium levels drop too low and can be fatal. Wearing too makeup and prolonged exposure can lead to headaches, dizziness and nausea due to certain ingredients found in certain cosmetics. Eye shadow, mascara and other forms of eye makeup can thin eyelashes and even cause eye infections, which can result in blindness. (4) Although one cannot give a definite benchmark to answer how much augmentation is ideal, these examples tell us that moderation is a suitable principle to live by. Thus, some makeup is …show more content…

Expanding on the immoral use of temporary personal augmentation, the widespread use of such beauty-enhancing methods has led to a virtually global perception of an exaggerated standard of beauty. One must not forget that no one is flawless; hopefully one day such exaggerated ideals will be eradicated and the world will finally agree that actual appearances are entirely acceptable, because we are all imperfectly perfect just the way we