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New Eugenics
New eugenics, also known as liberal eugenics (a term coined by bioethicist Nicholas Agar), advocates enhancing human characteristics and capacities through the use of reproductive technology and human genetic engineering. Those who advocate new eugenics generally think selecting or altering embryos should be left to the preferences of parents, rather than forbidden (or left to the preferences of the state). New eugenics purports to distinguish itself from the forms of eugenics practiced and advocated in the 20th century, which fell into disrepute after World War II. New eugenics practices Eugenics is sometimes broken into the categories of positive eugenics (encouraging reproduction among the designated "fit") and negative eugenics (discouraging or prohibiting reproduction among those designated "unfit"). Both positive and negative eugenic programs were advocated and pursued during the early 20th century. Negative programs were responsible for the compulsory sterilization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Agar
Nicholas Agar (born 1965) is a New Zealand professor of ethics. Agar has a BA from the University of Auckland, an MA from the Victoria University of Wellington, and a PhD from the Australian National University. He has been teaching at the University of Waikato since 2022. Work on human enhancement Agar has written extensively on the ethics of human enhancement and eugenics. He wrote the 2004 book ''Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement'', in which he argued that a vigorous defense of procreative freedom could turn authoritarian eugenics into a morally defensible liberal eugenics. Agar argued that parents should be allowed to make genetic modifications to their children, as long these changes do not excessively limit the child’s ability to shape their own future. He believes that state interference should be minimal, except for banning harmful modifications. Agar's 2010 book ''Humanity's End'' argued against the doctrine of radical enhancement sometimes identifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and University of San Diego School of Law, School of Law), the two institutions merged in 1972. The university includes the College of Arts and Sciences, Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, Division of Professional and Continuing Education, Knauss School of Business, School of Law, School of Leadership and Education Services (SOLES), and the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. USD has 89 undergraduate and graduate programs, and enrolls approximately 9,073 undergraduate, paralegal, graduate and law students. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The San Diego To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugenics
Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fertility of those considered inferior, or promoting that of those considered superior. The contemporary history of eugenics began in the late 19th century, when a popular eugenics movement emerged in the United Kingdom, and then spread to many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and most European countries (e.g. Sweden and Germany). In this period, people from across the political spectrum espoused eugenics. Many countries adopted eugenic policies intended to improve the quality of their populations. Historically, the idea of ''eugenics'' has been used to argue for a broad array of practices ranging from prenatal care for mothers deemed genetically desirable to the forced sterilization and murder of those deemed unf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioethics
Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, medicine, and technologies. It proposes the discussion about moral discernment in society (what decisions are "good" or "bad" and why) and it is often related to medical policy and practice, but also to broader questions as environment, well-being and public health. Bioethics is concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, theology and philosophy. It includes the study of values relating to primary care, other branches of medicine (" the ethics of the ordinary"), ethical education in science, animal, and environmental ethics, and public health. Etymology The term ''bioethics'' (Greek , "life"; , "moral nature, behavior") was coined in 1927 by Fritz Jahr in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Applied Genetics
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. New DNA is obtained by either isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or by artificially synthesising the DNA. A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism. The first recombinant DNA molecule was made by Paul Berg in 1972 by combining DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with the lambda virus. As well as inserting genes, the process can be used to remove, or "knock out", genes. The new DNA can either be inserted randomly or targeted to a specific part of the genome. An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically modified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugenics In France
Despite its political failure under the French Third Republic, Third Republic, Eugenics in France experienced early and thorough theoretical development. This medical eugenics ideology advocated for the formation of a human elite under the guidance of the French state as early as the late 18th century. Subsequent awareness of the theories of British Anthropology, anthropologist and statistician Francis Galton, the first theorist of eugenics, led to the creation of the French Society of Eugenics in 1913. Despite the numerous calls from French eugenics theorists for Market intervention, interventionist measures that persisted until the first half of the 20th century, this ideology exerted a negligible influence on French citizens, in contrast to its impact on those in Anglo-Saxon countries and the Nazi Germany, Third Reich. France's adoption of a single law inspired by eugenics was limited to the establishment of a mandatory prenuptial certificate under the Vichy France, Vichy regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mendelian Inheritance
Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularized by William Bateson. These principles were initially controversial. When Mendel's theories were integrated with the Boveri–Sutton chromosome theory of inheritance by Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1915, they became the core of classical genetics. Ronald Fisher combined these ideas with the theory of natural selection in his 1930 book '' The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection'', putting evolution onto a mathematical footing and forming the basis for population genetics within the modern evolutionary synthesis. History The principles of Mendelian inheritance were named for and first derived by Gregor Johann Mendel, a nineteenth-century Moravian monk who formulated his ideas after conducting simple hybridization experiments with pea p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Directed Evolution (transhumanism)
The term directed evolution is used within the transhumanist community to refer to the idea of applying the principles of directed evolution and experimental evolution to the control of human evolution. Law professor Maxwell Mehlman has said that "for transhumanists, directed evolution is likened to the Holy Grail". Riccardo Campa of the IEET wrote that "self-directed evolution" can be coupled with many different political, philosophical, and religious views within the transhumanist movement. Criticism of the term Andrew Askland from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, referring to transhumanism, says that directed evolution is problematic because evolution is ateleological and transhumanism is teleological. UCLA biophysicist and entrepreneur Gregory Stock has defended the concept, saying in 1999 that "the human species is moving out of its childhood. It is time to acknowledge our growing powers and begin to take responsibility for them." Participant evolution Partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biohappiness
Biohappiness, or bio-happiness, is the elevation of well-being in humans and other animals through biological methods, including germline engineering through screening embryos with genes associated with a high level of happiness, or the use of drugs intended to raise baseline levels of happiness. The object is to facilitate the achievement of a state of "better than well". Proponents of biohappiness include the transhumanist philosopher David Pearce, whose goal is to end the suffering of all sentient beings and the Canadian ethicist Mark Alan Walker. Walker coined the term "bio-happiness" to describe the idea of directly manipulating the biological roots of happiness in order to increase it. He sought to defend it on the grounds that happiness ought to be of interest to a wide range of moral theorists; and that hyperthymia, a state of high baseline happiness, is associated with better outcomes in health and human achievement. Potential risks A significant danger of bio happine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Bioethics Committee
The International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO is a body composed of 36 independent experts from all regions and different disciplines (mainly medicine, genetics, law, and philosophy) that follows progress in the life sciences and its applications in order to ensure respect for human dignity and human rights. It was created in 1993 by Dr Federico Mayor Zaragoza, General Director of UNESCO at that time. It has been prominent in developing Declarations with regard to norms of bioethics that are regarded as soft law but are nonetheless influential in shaping the deliberations, for example, of research ethics committees (or Institutional review board) and health policy. The functions of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) The functions of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) are as follows: -Promoting reflection on ethical and legal issues related to life sciences research and its applications, and encouraging the exchange of ideas and information, especially thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reductio Ad Absurdum
In logic, (Latin for "reduction to absurdity"), also known as (Latin for "argument to absurdity") or ''apagogical argument'', is the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction. This argument form traces back to Ancient Greek philosophy and has been used throughout history in both formal mathematical and philosophical reasoning, as well as in debate. In mathematics, the technique is called ''proof by contradiction''. In formal logic, this technique is captured by an axiom for "Reductio ad Absurdum", normally given the abbreviation RAA, which is expressible in propositional logic. This axiom is the introduction rule for negation (see ''negation introduction''). Examples The "absurd" conclusion of a ''reductio ad absurdum'' argument can take a range of forms, as these examples show: * The Earth cannot be flat; otherwise, since the Earth is assumed to be finite in extent, we would find peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defined from a human resources perspective, where it denotes a (relatively high) level of discretion granted to an employee in his or her work. In such cases, autonomy is known to generally increase job satisfaction. Self-actualized individuals are thought to operate autonomously of external expectations. In a medical context, respect for a patient's personal autonomy is considered one of many fundamental ethical principles in medicine. Sociology In the sociology of knowledge, a controversy over the boundaries of autonomy inhibited analysis of any concept beyond relative autonomy, until a typology of autonomy was created and developed within science and technology studies. According to it, the institution of science's existing autonom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
