![]() ![]() Our analysis is divided into three separate parts. Thus, serious discussion of the morality of genetic modification is more properly focused on arguments that examine and address the expected consequences of genetic modification for individuals and society, and not on ones that would pre-empt such a discussion by arguing that genetic modification is inherently objectionable. If these deterministic assumptions are false, as we maintain they clearly are, then these particular arguments against genetic modification lose their logical force. We demonstrate that these arguments against genetic modification – the freedom argument, the giftedness argument, the authenticity argument, and the uniqueness argument – all necessarily assume a strong version of genetic determinism. These arguments aim to pre-empt analysis of actual or expected medical, social, economic, political, and biological consequences, and to argue for a comprehensive ban of the technology due to its very nature. In this article, we examine four arguments used to support the view that there is something inherently wrong with genetic modification. Those who favor a ban, however, believe there is something inherently wrong with genetic modification, that there are inevitable, unavoidable, and undesirable consequences associated with modifying the human genome. Society should take appropriate steps to control genetic modification in order to maximize its benefits and minimize its harms. ![]() Those who favor regulation see nothing inherently wrong with genetic modification: the morality of genetic modification depends on an adequate understanding and evaluation of the medical, social, economic, political, and biological consequences. Most of the current debate is between those who think that genetic modification should proceed under some type of regulatory scheme, and those who think that the best solution is to ban genetic modification entirely. Since the risks to unborn children from genetic engineering mistakes are not currently known, and are likely substantial, few authors support the no-regulation view with regard to modifying the human genome. Finally, some have argued that genetic modification should be banned, since any attempt to modify the human genome violates human freedom and dignity, and leads us down a perilous path toward social, political and biological disaster. Many commentators, however, have argued for government regulation of genetic modification in order to protect important values, such as social justice and the welfare of unborn children. Other writers have put forth similarly vigorous defenses of reproductive freedom. Īs a libertarian, Nozick defended a laissez-faire approach to genetic modification, arguing that the government should not interfere with the market forces that influence procreation. And fully five different presidential committees have dealt with ethical issues raised by the genetic modification of human beings. Since the 1970s, numerous authors have examined the moral implications of "designer babies," and popular films, such as Blade Runner, GATACCA, and X-Men, have also explored the subject. Parents can design children to fulfill their own desires, hopes, and aspirations. If you want to have a child that will be male, athletic, musically gifted, heterosexual, 6'1" tall, with brown hair, blue eyes, and an IQ of 140, then you simply purchase the goods and services necessary to create that exact child. In the genetic supermarket, as Nozick portrays it, becoming a parent is like buying a new car. Four decades after the publication of that dystopia, Robert Nozick developed another futuristic scenario, the genetic supermarket, to prompt discussion of the moral implications of eugenics conducted not by the state, but at the level of individuals. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley imagined a society in which the government manufactures five different human castes designed to perform different roles. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |