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Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2018
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| _version_ | 1867614033608179712 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Palk, Andrea Christy |
| author2 | Van Niekerk, Anton A. |
| author_browse | Palk, Andrea Christy Van Niekerk, Anton A. |
| author_facet | Van Niekerk, Anton A. Palk, Andrea Christy |
| author_sort | Palk, Andrea Christy |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/103280 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:36.533Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateRange | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/103280 Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation Palk, Andrea Christy Van Niekerk, Anton A. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Autonomy (Philosophy) Behavior modification Human experimentation in medicine Medical innovations -- Moral and ethical aspects Moral bioenhancements Free will and determinism UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018. ENGLISH SUMMARY: It has been argued, in the bioethics literature, that traditional forms of moral instruction and development are no longer adequate in equipping humanity to address the urgent nature of the ethical problems facing contemporary societies. Rather than continuing to rely upon these supposedly ineffective methods, we should explore the possibility of biologically enhancing our morality. This would entail both decreasing the likelihood that we would wish to cause harm to others as well as increasing our motivation to do good. The proponents of moral bioenhancement argue that the best way of achieving this would be to isolate which affective dispositions, that are associated with moral traits, are susceptible to biological modification and to biologically enhance these dispositions. However, despite the presence of strong consequentialist arguments in favour of moral bioenhancement, it has elicited a variety of ethical concerns as well as conceptual and practical problems that would have to be addressed for it to become a coherent possibility. An ethical concern that has been raised in the literature is the concern that moral bioenhancement is wrong, in principle, and regardless of any benefits it could produce, because it risks negatively impacting phenomena that are regarded as intrinsically valuable. In particular, the concern is that moral bioenhancement could impact our moral autonomy, and thus, threaten human morality as such. This concern is based upon the view that the conditions for the exercise of autonomous moral behaviour, and thus morality itself, lie in the deliberation and choice that must be freely made in the face of competing demands. In other words, if it became possible to biologically increase our motivation to do good, thereby increasing the likelihood that we act in a way that is regarded as morally desirable, could our resultant behaviour still be regarded as morally autonomous; or, is morality solely a product of our given, unaltered biological predispositions, working in conjunction with traditional mechanisms of moral education? Will morality as we know it disappear if moral bioenhancement becomes a possibility? This dissertation contributes towards the literature through a comprehensive review in which particular conceptual, philosophical and empirical problems are addressed, as well as by providing a structured discussion of the practical and theoretical ethical concerns regarding moral bioenhancement. The dissertation includes a substantive definition of moral bioenhancement and makes further independent contributions through the analysis and application of a coherence theory of autonomy to ascertain the status for moral autonomy of various outcomes of moral bioenhancement interventions. From this analysis, a checklist of interventions that could be potentially inimical to autonomy, in terms of their outcomes, is constructed. The conclusion is that in certain cases, moral bioenhancement could produce an increase, rather than a decrease, in the level of autonomy experienced by individuals. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is al meermale in die bio-etiek literatuur beredeneer dat tradisionele vorme van morele onderrig en ontwikkeling nie meer voldoende is om die dringende morele probleme wat teenswoordige samelewings moet aanspreek, die hoof te bied nie. Eerder as om voort te gaan om op hierdie skynbare oneffektiewe metodes peil te trek, moet ons liewer die moontlikheid ondersoek om ons morele sensitiwiteit biologies te verbeter. Dit sal behels dat sowel die waarskynlikheid om kwaad aan ander te doen as die toename van ons motivering om goed te doen, aan die orde moet kom. Die apologete van morele bio-verbetering argumenteer dat die beste manier om laasgenoemde te bereik, sou wees om dié affektiewe disposisies wat geassosieer is met morele kenmerke, te isoleer, te bepaal hoe vatbaar hulle is vir biologiese modifikasie, en om dan hierdie disposisies biologies te verbeter. Ten spyte van sterk konsekwensialistiese argumente ten gunste van morele bio-verbetering, het laasgenoemde moontlikheid ‘n verskeidenheid van etiese vraagstukke sowel as konseptuele en praktiese probleme opgelewer wat aangespreek sal moet word alvorens sodanige verbeteringe ʼn koherente moontlikheid kan word. ʼn Etiese probleem wat in die literatuur vermeld word, is die vraag of morele bio-verbetering nie miskien as sodanig (in beginsel) verkeerd is nie - ongeag enige voordele wat dit kan oplewer - bloot op grond van die feit dat dit negatief sal impakteer op verskynsels wat inherent waardevol is. Hierdie besorgdheid is veral die vraag of morele bio-verbetering ʼn beduidende effek sou kon hê op ons morele outonomie, en dus ʼn bedreiging vir menslike moraliteit as sodanig sou kon inhou. Hierdie vraagstelling is gebaseer op die beskouing dat die voorwaardes vir die uitoefening van outonome morele gedrag, en dus van moraliteit as sodanig, geleë is in die deliberasie en keuses wat vryelik gemaak moet kan word ten aansien van kompeterende eise. Met ander woorde: indien dit moontlik is om ons motivering om goed te doen, biologies te verbeter, en om daardeur die waarskynlikheid dat ons op ‘n manier sal optree wat moreel wenslik is, te verhoog, is die vraag of ons resulterende gedrag steeds as moreel outonoom beskou sal kan word. Of, moet ons in so ʼn geval, argumenteer dat moraliteit suiwer ʼn produk is van ons gegewe, onveranderde biologiese disposisies wat slegs saamwerk met die tradisionele meganismes van ons morele opvoeding? Kortom: sal moraliteit, soos ons dit ken, verdwyn indien morele bio-verbetering ʼn moontlikheid word? In hierdie verhandeling is die gevolgtrekking dat die vlak van bedreiging vir morele outonomie wat morele bio-verbetering inhou, afhang van ʼn aantal faktore, wat die aard van die intervensie en die interpretasie van die betekenis van outonomie, insluit. Die argument word verder ontwikkel dat, in sekere gevalle, morele bio-verbetering ʼn toename, eerder as ‘n afname, in die vlak van outonomie wat individue ervaar, kan meebring. National Research Foundation (NRF) Doctoral 2018-01-22T09:36:17Z 2018-04-09T06:51:41Z 2018-01-22T09:36:17Z 2018-04-09T06:51:41Z 2018-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/103280 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 257 pages application/pdf application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Autonomy (Philosophy) Behavior modification Human experimentation in medicine Medical innovations -- Moral and ethical aspects Moral bioenhancements Free will and determinism UCTD Palk, Andrea Christy Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title | Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title_full | Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title_fullStr | Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title_short | Moral bioenhancement: an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| title_sort | moral bioenhancement an ethical and philosophical investigation |
| topic | Autonomy (Philosophy) Behavior modification Human experimentation in medicine Medical innovations -- Moral and ethical aspects Moral bioenhancements Free will and determinism UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/103280 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT palkandreachristy moralbioenhancementanethicalandphilosophicalinvestigation |