Biomedical Moral Enhancement and Moral Progress

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Evolutionary Development ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
Biomedical Technologies ◽  
Moral Problems ◽  
Biomedical Moral Enhancement

This chapter critically examines a different and highly provocative response to the thesis that evolved human moral psychology poses severe and inflexible limitations on moral progress: the “evoliberal” proposal to re-engineer human moral psychology through biomedical technologies in order to solve some of our most pressing moral problems: war, terrorism, genocide, and climate change. It shows that the evoliberal position is premised on the same problematic evolutionary assumptions that underpin the evoconservative view. Once our world’s great moral problems are recast in terms of failures of moral inclusivity, it becomes clear that biomedical moral enhancement technology is unlikely to be necessary or effective in addressing them. To the contrary, the evolutionary model of moral psychological development sketched in Part II suggests that cultural moral innovations that deploy our best understanding of the evolutionary development of human morality stand the best chance of driving moral progress and preventing moral regression.

scholarly journals The evolution of moral progress and biomedical moral enhancement

Bioethics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 814-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingmar Persson ◽  
Julian Savulescu
Keyword(s):  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
Biomedical Moral Enhancement

scholarly journals Biomedical Moral Enhancement for Human Space Missions

Studia Humana ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Konrad Szocik
Keyword(s):  
Space Missions ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
Moral Intuitions ◽  
Moral Bioenhancement ◽  
Mission Success ◽  
Biomedical Moral Enhancement

Abstract Biomedical moral enhancement is an idea which states that human moral intuitions and patterns may be artificially improved by biomedical means. The rationale which lies behind moral bioenhancement is rooted in the idea that humans – in a moral and behavioral sense – are not evolutionally adapted to current ecological challenges. This idea is discussed in the paper in relation to human space missions to Mars and beyond. Because the space environment is a hazardous environment, there are some reasons to consider the idea of moral bioenhancement for the purposes of mission success and the safety of astronauts/space settlers. This paper discusses that idea in the context of a broader discussion on moral enhancement, moral bioenhancement related to earthly issues, and the idea of moral progress.

Moral Enhancement and Climate Change: Might it Work?

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 371-388
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kulawska ◽  
Michael Hauskeller
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Climate Crisis

AbstractClimate change is one of the most urgent global problems that we face today. The causes are well understood and many solutions have been proposed; however, so far none have been successful. Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu have argued that this is because our moral psychology is ill-equipped to deal with global problems such as this. They propose that in order to successfully mitigate climate change we should morally enhance ourselves. In this chapter we look at their proposal to see whether moral enhancement is indeed a viable solution to the climate crisis, and conclude that due to various theoretical and practical problems it most likely is not.

Would Aristotle Have Seen the Wrongness of Slavery If He Had Undergone a Course of Moral Enhancement?

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 87-107
Author(s):  
Nigel Pleasants
Keyword(s):  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Moral Change ◽  
Moral Problems ◽  
Three Stages

AbstractI agree with those proponents of bio-medical moral enhancement who claim that we face large-scale global moral problems which are currently un-recognised or un-acted upon. But I argue that the proposed bio-medical means for tackling them is misconceived. I show that both bio-medical and “traditional” conceptions of moral enhancement share a misleading picture of the relation between the moral psychology of individuals and the socially structured moral problems with which they are faced. The argument unfolds in three stages. First I reflect on prominent historical cases of large-scale progressive moral change to assess the role of the agents’ moral psychology in bringing that about and sustaining it. Second, I identify some current cases of people recognising one or more of (what I call) the “new moral problems” that we face but not acting in accordance with that recognition. Third, I adumbrate an alternative stance to the idea of both traditional and bio-medical moral enhancement.

scholarly journals Technological moral enhancement or traditional moral progress? Why not both?

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 405-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Fabiano
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Nuclear Proliferation ◽  
Human Enhancement ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
New Challenges

A new argument has been made against moral enhancement by authors who are otherwise in favour of human enhancement. Additionally, they share the same evolutionary toolkit for analysing human traits as well as the belief that our current morality is unfit to deal with modern problems, such as climate change and nuclear proliferation. The argument is put forward by Buchanan and Powell and states that other paths to moral progress are enough to deal with these problems. Given the likely costs and risks involved with developing moral enhancement, this argument implies moral enhancement is an unpromising enterprise. After mentioning proposed solutions to such modern problems, I will argue that moral enhancement would help implement any of them. I will then detail Buchanan and Powell’s new argument disfavouring moral enhancement and argue that it makes too bold assumptions about the efficacy of traditional moral progress. For instance, it overlooks how that progress was to achieve even in relatively successful cases such as the abolition of slavery. Traditional moral progress is likely to require assistance from non-traditional means in order to face new challenges.

scholarly journals Analysis on the Synergy Evolutionary Development of the Collecting, Distributing, and Transporting System of Railway Heavy Haul Transportation

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenling Feng ◽  
Dan Lan ◽  
Liuwen Yang
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Order ◽  
Interpolation Method ◽  
Spline Interpolation ◽  
Research Result ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Evolutionary Development ◽  
Heavy Load ◽  
Heavy Haul ◽  
Load Transportation ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

A synergy evolutionary model of the collecting, distributing, and transporting system of railway heavy haul transportation is built by introducing synergy-related concepts and applying synergy evolutionary theory. Then spline interpolation method, numerical differential five-point formula, and method of least squares are used to solve synergistic coefficient, while fourth-order Rugge-kutta method and fourth-order Adams linear implicit formula method are used to solve coevolutionary curve of the system. Finally, the heavy load transportation of Daqin Railway is an example of the empirical analysis. The research result shows that the degree of order of the system and its three subsystems—collecting, transporting, and distributing—increases as the synergetic coefficient of the subsystems increases; otherwise, the degree of the order will decrease. It also shows that this model can better analyze the coevolutionary process of the heavy load collecting, distributing, and transporting system of Daqin Railway, with its rationality and applicability verified.

scholarly journals The Experimental Psychology of Moral Enhancement: We Should If We Could, But We Can't

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 313-328
Author(s):  
Sylvia Terbeck ◽  
Kathryn B. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Psychological Assessment ◽  
Experimental Psychology ◽  
Human Enhancement ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Moral Concepts ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Moral Behaviour ◽  
Experimental Findings

AbstractIn this chapter we will review experimental evidence related to pharmacological moral enhancement. Firstly, we will present our recent study in which we found that a drug called propranolol could change moral judgements. Further research, which also investigated this, found similar results. Secondly, we will discuss the limitations of such approaches, when it comes to the idea of general “human enhancement”. Whilst promising effects on certain moral concepts might be beneficial to the development of theoretical moral psychology, enhancement of human moral behaviour in general – to our current understanding – has more side-effects than intended effects, making it potentially harmful. We give an overview of misconceptions when taking experimental findings beyond the laboratory and discuss the problems and solutions associated with the psychological assessment of moral behaviour. Indeed, how is morality “measured” in psychology, and are those measures reliable?

What Can I Hope about the Earth’s Future Climate? Affective Resources for Overcoming Intergenerational Distance, Kantian and Otherwise

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political History ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Moral Problems

AbstractWhile climate change involves spatial, epistemological, social, and temporal remoteness, each type of distance can be bridged with strategies unique to it that can be borrowed from analogous moral problems. Temporal, or intergenerational, distance may actually be a motivational resource if we look at our natural feelings of hope for the future of the world, via Kant’s theory of political history, and for our children. Kant’s theory of hope also provides some basis for including future generations in a theory of justice.

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