In Genes We Trust: Germline Engineering, Eugenics, and the Future of the Human Genome

被引:18
作者
Powell, Russell [1 ]
机构
[1] Boston Univ, Boston, MA 02215 USA
来源
JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND PHILOSOPHY | 2015年 / 40卷 / 06期
关键词
disease; eugenics; evolution; genetic engineering; germline; justice; selection; MUTATIONS; POPULATIONS; SELECTION; FITNESS; RATES;
D O I
10.1093/jmp/jhv025
中图分类号
B82 [伦理学(道德学)];
学科分类号
摘要
Liberal proponents of genetic engineering maintain that developing human germline modification technologies is morally desirable because it will result in a net improvement in human health and well-being. Skeptics of germline modification, in contrast, fear evolutionary harms that could flow from intervening in the human germline, and worry that such programs, even if well intentioned, could lead to a recapitulation of the scientifically and morally discredited projects of the old eugenics. Some bio-conservatives have appealed as well to the value of retaining our "given" human biological nature as a reason for restraining the development and use of human genetic modification technologies even where they would tend to increase well-being. In this article, I argue that germline intervention will be necessary merely to sustain the levels of genetic health that we presently enjoy for future generations-a goal that should appeal to bioliberals and bioconservatives alike. This is due to the population-genetic consequences of relaxed selection pressures in human populations caused by the increasing efficacy and availability of conventional medicine. This heterodox conclusion, which I present as a problem of intergenerational justice, has been overlooked in medicine and bioethics due to certain misconceptions about human evolution, which I attempt to rectify, as well as the sordid history of Darwinian approaches to medicine and social policy, which I distinguish from the present argument.
引用
收藏
页码:669 / 695
页数:27
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