Enhancing Human Traits

Author : Erik Parens
Publisher : Georgetown University Press
ISBN 13 : 9781589018426
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Enhancing Human Traits written by Erik Parens and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2000-01-03 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume, scholars from philosophy, sociology, history, theology, women’s studies, and law explore the looming ethical and social implications of new biotechnologies that are rapidly making it possible to enhance an individual’s mental and physical attributes in ways previously only imagined. To clarify the issues, the contributors grapple with the central concept of "enhancement" and probe the uses and abuses of the term. Focusing in particular on the moral issues pertaining to cosmetic surgery and cosmetic psychopharmacology (a category which includes Prozac), they also examine notions of identity, authenticity, normality, and complicity. Other essays in this collection address the social ramifications of the new technologies, including the problems of access and fairness.

Author : Michael J Sandel
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674043065
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Case against Perfection written by Michael J Sandel and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.

Author : Julian Savulescu
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN 13 : 0199299722
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Human Enhancement written by Julian Savulescu and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2009-01-22 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To what extent should we use technological advances to try to make better human beings? Leading philosophers debate the possibility of enhancing human cognition, mood, personality, and physical performance, and controlling aging. Would this take us beyond the bounds of human nature? These are questions that need to be answered now.

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309452880
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.85/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Human Genome Editing written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-08-13 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genome editing is a powerful new tool for making precise alterations to an organism's genetic material. Recent scientific advances have made genome editing more efficient, precise, and flexible than ever before. These advances have spurred an explosion of interest from around the globe in the possible ways in which genome editing can improve human health. The speed at which these technologies are being developed and applied has led many policymakers and stakeholders to express concern about whether appropriate systems are in place to govern these technologies and how and when the public should be engaged in these decisions. Human Genome Editing considers important questions about the human application of genome editing including: balancing potential benefits with unintended risks, governing the use of genome editing, incorporating societal values into clinical applications and policy decisions, and respecting the inevitable differences across nations and cultures that will shape how and whether to use these new technologies. This report proposes criteria for heritable germline editing, provides conclusions on the crucial need for public education and engagement, and presents 7 general principles for the governance of human genome editing.

Author : Steve Clarke
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019875485X
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.55/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Ethics of Human Enhancement written by Steve Clarke and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An international team of ethicists refresh the debate about human enhancement by examining whether resistance to the use of technology to enhance our mental and physical capabilities can be supported by articulated philosophical reasoning, or explained away, e.g. in terms of psychological influences on moral reasoning.

Author : Nicholas Agar
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470777575
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Liberal Eugenics written by Nicholas Agar and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative book, philosopher Nicholas Agar defends the idea that parents should be allowed to enhance their children’s characteristics. Gets away from fears of a Huxleyan ‘Brave New World’ or a return to the fascist eugenics of the past Written from a philosophically and scientifically informed point of view Considers real contemporary cases of parents choosing what kind of child to have Uses ‘moral images’ as a way to get readers with no background in philosophy to think about moral dilemmas Provides an authoritative account of the science involved, making the book suitable for readers with no knowledge of genetics Creates a moral framework for assessing all new technologies

Author : The Royal Society
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309671132
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Heritable Human Genome Editing written by The Royal Society and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2021-01-16 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.

Author : Jonathan Anomaly
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 100076978X
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Creating Future People written by Jonathan Anomaly and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating Future People offers readers a fast-paced primer on how new genetic technologies will enable parents to influence the traits of their children, including their intelligence, moral capacities, physical appearance, and immune system. It deftly explains the science of gene editing and embryo selection, and raises the central moral questions with colorful language and a brisk style. Jonathan Anomaly takes seriously the diversity of preferences parents have, and the limits of public policy in regulating what could soon be a global market for reproductive technology. He argues that once embryo selection for complex traits happens it will change the moral landscape by altering the incentives parents face. All of us will take an interest in the traits everyone else selects, and this will present coordination problems that previous writers on genetic enhancement have failed to consider. Anomaly navigates difficult ethical issues with vivid language and scientifically informed speculation about how genetic engineering will transform humanity. Key features: Offers clear explanations of scientific concepts Explores important moral questions without academic jargon Brings discoveries from different fields together to give us a sense of where humanity is headed

Author : Sorin Hostiuc
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0128137657
Total Pages : 431 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Clinical Ethics at the Crossroads of Genetic and Reproductive Technologies written by Sorin Hostiuc and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clinical Ethics at the Crossroads of Genetic and Reproductive Technologies offers thorough discussions on preconception carrier screening, genetic engineering and the use of CRISPR gene editing, mitochondrial gene replacement therapy, sex selection, predictive testing, secondary findings, embryo reduction and the moral status of the embryo, genetic enhancement, and the sharing of genetic data. Chapter contributions from leading bioethicists and clinicians encourage a global, holistic perspective on applied challenges and the moral questions relating the implementation of genetic reproductive technology. The book is an ideal resource for practitioners, regulators, lawmakers, clinical researchers, genetic counselors and graduate and medical students. As the Human Genome Project has triggered a technological revolution that has influenced nearly every field of medicine, including reproductive medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, andrology, prenatal genetic testing, and gene therapy, this book presents a timely resource. Provides practical analysis of the ethical issues raised by cutting-edge techniques and recent advances in prenatal and reproductive genetics Contains contributions from leading bioethicists and clinicians who offer a global, holistic perspective on applied challenges and moral questions relating to genetic and genomic reproductive technology Discusses preconception carrier screening, genetic engineering and the use of CRISPR gene editing, mitochondrial gene replacement therapy, ethical issues, and more

Author : Bert Gordijn
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402088523
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.20/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity written by Bert Gordijn and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-20 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As we are increasingly using new technologies to change ourselves beyond therapy and in accordance with our own desires, understanding the challenges of human enhancement has become one of the most urgent topics of the current age. This volume contributes to such an understanding by critically examining the pros and cons of our growing ability to shape human nature through technological advancements. The authors undertake careful analyses of decisive questions that will confront society as enhancement interventions using bio-, info-, neuro- and nanotechnologies become widespread in the years to come. They provide the reader with the conceptual tools necessary to address such questions fruitfully. What makes the book especially attractive is the combination of conceptual, historical and ethical approaches, rendering it highly original. In addition, the well-balanced structure allows both favourable and critical views to be voiced. Moreover, the work has a crystal clear structure. As a consequence, the book is accessible to a broad academic audience. The issues raised are of interest to a wide reflective public concerned about science and ethics, as well as to students, academics and professionals in areas such as philosophy, applied ethics, bioethics, medicine and health management.