The Biological Foundations of Bioethics

About this book

Much recent thought on the ethics of new biomedical technologies, and work in ethics and political philosophy more generally, is committed to hidden and contestable views about the nature of biological reality. This selection of essays by Tim Lewens, a leading expert in the field, teases out these biological foundations of bioethical writing and subjects them to scrutiny. The topics covered include human enhancement, the risks of technical progress, the alleged moral threat of synthetic biology, the reality of human nature, the relevance of evolutionary psychology to social policy, the nature of the distinction between health and disease, and justice in healthcare decision-making.

Contents

1: Introduction: The Biological Foundations of Bioethics

Part One: Bettering Nature
2: Enhancement and Human Nature: The Case of Sandel
3: The Risks of Progress: Precaution and the Case of Human Enhancement
4: Human Nature: The Very Idea
5: From Bricolage to Biobricks (TM): Synthetic Biology and Rational Design
6: Origins, Parents, and Non-Identity

Part Two: Biology in Ethics and Political Philosophy
7: Development Aid: On Ontogeny and Ethics
8: Prospects for Evolutionary Policy
9: What are Natural Inequalities?
10: Foot Note
11: Health, Naturalism, and Policy

References
Index

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