Enhancing the Brain and the Ethics of Sport

Doping, or in more morally neutral terms, enhancement, has always been present in sport practice and not only at the present time, which is marked by professionalism and competitiveness. The latest development in doping seems linked to biotechnological advances, and one of the techniques that will apparently be particularly important in the near future is neuroscience, notably through pharmacological enhancers and transcranial stimulators. These devices promise to improve not only physiological aspects in sport performance, but also mental and emotional ones. On the other hand, they can seriously affect sport ethics insofar as they can be economically accessible to professional and amateur athletes. This chapter explores these issues.

The Ethics of Cloning Horses in Polo

The ethics of using genetic engineering to enhance athletic performance has been a recurring topic in the sport philosophy and bioethics literature. In this article, we analyze the ethics of cloning horses for polo competition. In doing so, we critically examine the arguments most commonly advanced to justify this practice. In the process, we raise concerns about cloning horses for polo competition, centering on normative aspects pertaining to sport ethics usually neglected by defenders of cloning. In particular, we focus on (1) how this practice could have a detrimental impact on the central skills of polo, and (2) how it unjustly creates an uneven playing field. We suggest that the polo community would benefit from critically considering the ethical quandaries posed by the practice of cloning horses for polo competition.