Julian Savulescu
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Julian Savulescu (born 1963) is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist. He is Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics and Director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...
. He is also the Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, and was previously the Fellow of
St Cross College, Oxford St Cross College, known colloquially as StX, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1965, St Cross is a graduate college with gothic and traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just sou ...
, Director of the
Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford was founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division, University of Oxford, Humanities Division. The faculty is located next to Somerville College, Oxford, Somerville College on Woodstock ...
, and co-director of the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities. He is a visiting professorial fellow in Biomedical Ethics at the
Murdoch Children's Research Institute The Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) is an Australian paediatric medical research institute located in Melbourne, Victoria, affiliated with the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne. The institute has six resear ...
in Australia, and distinguished visiting professor in Law at
Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...
since 2017. He directs the Biomedical Ethics Research Group and is a member of the Centre for Ethics of Pediatric Genomics in Australia. He is a former editor and current board member of the ''
Journal of Medical Ethics The ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of bioethics that was established in 1975 and is published by BMJ. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2023 impact factor ...
'' (2001–2004 and 2011–2018).


Career

Savulescu completed a
Bachelor of Medical Sciences A Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci, BMedSc, BSc(Med), BMSc) is an undergraduate academic degree involving study of a variety of disciplines related to human health leading to an in depth understanding of human biology and associated research s ...
and a PhD at
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
, under the supervision of philosopher
Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher who is Emeritus Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Singer's work specialises in applied ethics, approaching the subject from a secu ...
. His doctoral thesis was on good reasons to die and euthanasia. After graduating, he took a Menzies Foundation postdoctoral scholarship, supervised by Derek Parfit before returning to Australia. He established a group on the ethics of genetics at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia. In 2002, he took up the Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics in Oxford. In 2003, he established the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics as Director. He edits the Oxford University Press book series, the Uehiro Series in Practical Ethics.


Views


Procreative beneficence

Savulescu coined the term ''procreative beneficence.'' He describes it as the
moral obligation An obligation is a course of action which someone is required to take, be it a legal obligation or a moral obligation. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. ...
(rather than mere permission) of
parents A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are first-degree relatives and have 50% genetic meet. ...
who can select among potential children to choose those expected to have the best life prospects. For instance through
preimplantation genetic diagnosis Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) is the genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation (as a form of embryo profiling), and sometimes even of oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered in a similar fashion to prenatal ...
(PGD) and subsequent
embryo selection In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...
or selective termination. A similar position was defended by John Harris. One argument is that some traits such as memory are "all-purpose means", in the sense of being instrumental in realizing whatever life plans the child may come to have. Philosopher Walter Veit has argued that if one accepts both procreative beneficence and
consequentialism In moral philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a ...
, then a parental obligation for
genetic enhancement Human genetic enhancement or human genetic engineering refers to human enhancement by means of a genetic modification. This could be done in order to cure diseases (gene therapy), prevent the possibility of getting a particular disease (similarly ...
logically follows, as there is no intrinsic moral difference between selecting and enhancing embryos for welfare-maximizing traits.


Reception

The principle of procreative beneficience is controversial. Bioethicist Rebecca Bennett argued against Savulescu's position, contending that not selecting the best offspring harms no one since those potential individuals would otherwise never have existed. She further wrote that the intuitions supporting such a selection merely reflect non-moral preferences rather than genuine moral obligations. Peter Herissone-Kelly argued against this criticism.


Moral Enhancement

In 2009, Professor Savulescu presented a paper at the "Festival of Dangerous Ideas", held at the Sydney Opera House in October 2009, entitled "Unfit for Life: Genetically Enhance Humanity or Face Extinction", which can be seen on
Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...
. Savulescu argues that unless humans are willing to undergo " moral enhancement", they may be on the brink of disappearing in a metaphorical "Bermuda Triangle", which he describes as a dangerous convergence of three factors: widespread access to destructive technologies, inherent limitations of human moral nature (such as parochialism and self-interest), and inadequacies of liberal democracy to address global challenges. Norbert Paulo criticised Savulescu's argument for moral enhancement, arguing that if democratic governments had to morally enhance their populations because the majoritarian population are morally deficient, they could not be legitimate as they manipulated the population's will. Thus in Paulo's view, those advocating large-scale, state-driven and partially mandatory moral enhancement are advocating a non-democratic order.


Embryonic stem cells

Savulescu also justifies the destruction of embryos and foetuses as a source of organs and tissue for transplantation to adults. In an abstract, he argues that "The most publicly justifiable application of human cloning, if there is one at all, is to provide self-compatible cells or tissues for medical use, especially transplantation. Some have argued that this raises no new ethical issues above those raised by any form of embryo experimentation. I argue that this research is less morally problematic than other embryo research. Indeed, it is not merely morally permissible but morally required that we employ cloning to produce embryos or fetuses for the sake of providing cells, tissues or even organs for therapy, followed by abortion of the embryo or fetus." He argues that if it is permissible to destroy foetuses, for social reasons, or no reasons at all, it must be justifiable to destroy them to save lives. He argues that stem cell research is important enough as to be justifiable even if one conceptualizes the embryo as a person.


Abortion debate

Further, as editor of the ''Journal of Medical Ethics'', he published, in 2012, an article by two Italian academics which stated that a new-born baby is effectively no different from a foetus, is not a "person" and, morally, could be killed at the decision of the parents etc. This article was published as part of a special double issue, "Abortion, Infanticide, and Allowing Babies to Die". The double issue included articles by
Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher who is Emeritus Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Singer's work specialises in applied ethics, approaching the subject from a secu ...
,
Michael Tooley Michael Tooley (born 1941) is an American philosopher, now emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder, best known for his contributions to metaphysics. Education and career He has a BA from the University of Toronto and earned his Ph.D. ...
, Jeff McMahan,
C. A. J. Coady Cecil Anthony John Coady , more commonly publishing as C. A. J. Coady and less formally known as Tony Coady (born 18 April 1936), is a prominent Australian philosopher, working particularly in epistemology but also in political and applied philos ...
,
Leslie Francis Leslie Pickering Francis is an American philosopher, currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Professor of Law at University of Utah. Francis holds joint appointments as Alfred C. Emery professor of law and professor of p ...
,
John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher and jurist specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is an original interpreter of Aristotle and Aquinas, and counts Germain Grisez as a major inf ...
, and others. In an editorial, Savulescu wrote: "The Journal aims in this issue to promote further and more extensive rational debate concerning this controversial and important topic by providing a range of arguments from a variety of perspectives. We have tried to be as inclusive as possible and provided a double issue to include as many as possible of the submissions we received. Infanticide is an important issue and one worthy of scholarly attention because it touches on an area of concern that few societies have had the courage to tackle honestly and openly: euthanasia. We hope that the papers in this issue will stimulate ethical reflection on practices of euthanasia that are occurring and its proper justification and limits." He also stated, "I am strongly opposed to the legalisation of infanticide along the lines discussed by Giubilini and Minerva."


Other positions

Along with neuroethicist Guy Kahane, Savulescu's article "Brain Damage and the Moral Significance of Consciousness" appears to be the first mainstream publication to argue that increased evidence of consciousness in patients diagnosed with being in
persistent vegetative state A vegetative state (VS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative state, the patie ...
actually ''supports'' withdrawing or withholding care.


Other information

He has co-authored two books: ''Medical Ethics and Law: The Core Curriculum'' with Tony Hope and Judith Hendrick and ''Unfit for the Future: The Need for Moral Enhancement'' (published by Oxford University Press) with Ingmar Persson. Savulescu is a member of the board of directors executive committee of the
International Neuroethics Society The International Neuroethics Society (INS) is a professional organization that studies the social, legal, ethical, and policy implications of advances in neuroscience. Its mission is to encourage and inspire research and dialogue on the responsible ...
. He has also edited the books ''Der neue Mensch? Enhancement und Genetik'' (together with
Nikolaus Knoepffler Nikolaus Knoepffler (born 1962 in Miltenberg, Bavaria) is a philosopher and theologian. He currently holds the Chair of Applied Ethics and is the director of the Ethics Center (Ethikzentrum) at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany. ...
), ''
Human Enhancement Human enhancement is the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to enhance physical or mental capabilities. Technologies Existing technologies Three forms of human enhancement currently exist: reproductive ...
'' (together with
Nick Bostrom Nick Bostrom ( ; ; born 10 March 1973) is a Philosophy, philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, whole brain emulation, Existential risk from artificial general intelligence, superin ...
), ''Enhancing Human Capacities'', ''The Ethics of Human Enhancement.'' He was also a co-author of ''Love Is the Drug: The Chemical Future of Our Relationships'' addressing the future potential widespread use of
aphrodisiacs An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such ...
. In it, he argued, that certain forms of medications can be ethically consumed as a "helpful complement" in relationships. Both to fall in love, and, to fall out of it.


Awards

In 2009, Savulescu was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award by Monash University. In the same year, he was also announced as the winner in the Thinking category of ''The Australian'' newspaper's Emerging Leaders Awards. Savulescu has a
Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from the
University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...
(2014). He was awarded the 'Thinker' Award in the top 100 Australian Future Leaders (2009), and is a Monash University Distinguished Alumni (2009). He was ASMR Gold Medalist (2005). In 2018, Savulescu and a team of co-authors were awarded the Daniel M. Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize. This prize recognises the author of an article or book chapter judged to provide the most innovative theoretical contribution to social/personality psychology within a given year. He was also shortlisted for the AHRC Medal for Leadership in Medical Humanities in 2018. He was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the
Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...
in 2023.


See also

*
Biopolitics Biopolitics is a concept popularized by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the mid-20th century. At its core, biopolitics explores how governmental power operates through the management and regulation of a population's bodies and lives. ...
*
Designer baby A designer baby is an embryo or fetus whose genetic makeup has been intentionally selected or altered, often to exclude a particular gene or to remove genes associated with disease, to achieve desired traits. This process usually involves pre ...
*
Human enhancement Human enhancement is the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to enhance physical or mental capabilities. Technologies Existing technologies Three forms of human enhancement currently exist: reproductive ...
*
Human genetic engineering Human genetic enhancement or human genetic engineering refers to human enhancement by means of a genetic modification. This could be done in order to cure diseases (gene therapy), prevent the possibility of getting a particular disease (similarly ...
*
Morphological freedom Morphological freedom refers to a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify their own body, on their own terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology. T ...
*
Techno-progressivism Techno-progressivism, or tech-progressivism, is a stance of active support for the wikt:convergence, convergence of technological change and social change. Techno-progressives argue that technological developments can be profoundly empowerment ...
*
Transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the human enhancement, enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cogni ...


References


External links


The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.The Hinxton Group: An International Consortium on Stem Cells, Ethics & Law.Stronger, smarter, nicer humans.''Philosophy Bites'' podcast of Julian Savulescu interviewed by Nigel Warburton on the Yuk Factor.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savulescu, Julian 1963 births Living people 20th-century Australian philosophers 21st-century Australian philosophers Australian people of Romanian descent Australian transhumanists Bioethicists Fellows of St Cross College, Oxford Monash University alumni Australian medical doctors