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Selecting the Next Generation

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Abstract

This paper discusses one area of the interface between science and ethics: the genetic manipulation and design of human beings. Genetic interventions are an increasingly powerful eugenic resource, but they raise ethical suspicions. Critics condemn them, alleging severe negative consequences for society and the manipulated individuals involved. I analyze some influential general arguments (consequentialist and non-consequentialist) proposed against artificially selecting the next generation and conclude that the arguments are insufficient to cast blanket prohibitions against genetic interventions. Eugenic projects are compatible in principle with the pursuit of dignity, freedom, and tolerance at the individual and social levels. The ethical challenges raised by genetic interventions are real and vital. Still, it seems more ethically beneficial to approach them piecemeal through public-level arguments informed by science and specific to the cases encountered.

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Notes

  1. I am thankful to Prof. Marco Buzzoni for suggesting this topic.

  2. An inherited blood disorder characterized by less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells in the body than normal. Thalassemia can cause anemia, making the afflicted prone to fatigue.

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Acknowledgements

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at meetings of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Perú), and Universidad Nacional Hermilio Valdizán (Huánuco, Perú). I wish to thank the audiences at those meetings for fruitful discussions and valuable suggestions.

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Correspondence to Alberto Cordero.

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Cordero, A. Selecting the Next Generation. Axiomathes 30, 667–683 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-020-09513-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-020-09513-8

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