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| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Case against Perfection Michael J Sandel, 2009-06-30 Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Case Against Perfection Michael J. Sandel, 2007 A profile of Henry Ford (1863-1947), the Ford Motor Company founder whose Model T in 1908 changed the auto industry. He also instituted the assembly line (an idea borrowed from the meatpacking industry), introduced the $5/8-hour workday, and investigated employees through his company's Sociological Department. (Anyone who failed to pass muster had wages withheld and/or were fired.) The documentary also details his anti-Semitism, including a newspaper he purchased in order to publicize his views. ~ Jeff Gemmill, Rovi |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Democracy’s Discontent Michael J. Sandel, 2022-10-28 A renowned political philosopher updates his classic book on the American political tradition to address the perils democracy confronts today. The 1990s were a heady time. The Cold War had ended, and America’s version of liberal capitalism seemed triumphant. And yet, amid the peace and prosperity, anxieties about the project of self-government could be glimpsed beneath the surface. So argued Michael Sandel, in his influential and widely debated book Democracy’s Discontent, published in 1996. The market faith was eroding the common life. A rising sense of disempowerment was likely to provoke backlash, he wrote, from those who would “shore up borders, harden the distinction between insiders and outsiders, and promise a politics to ‘take back our culture and take back our country,’ to ‘restore our sovereignty’ with a vengeance.” Now, a quarter century later, Sandel updates his classic work for an age when democracy’s discontent has hardened into a country divided against itself. In this new edition, he extends his account of America’s civic struggles from the 1990s to the present. He shows how Democrats and Republicans alike embraced a version of finance-driven globalization that created a society of winners and losers and fueled the toxic politics of our time. In a work celebrated when first published as “a remarkable fusion of philosophical and historical scholarship” (Alan Brinkley), Sandel recalls moments in the American past when the country found ways to hold economic power to democratic account. To reinvigorate democracy, Sandel argues in a stirring new epilogue, we need to reconfigure the economy and empower citizens as participants in a shared public life. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: What Money Can't Buy Michael J. Sandel, 2012-04-24 In What Money Can't Buy, renowned political philosopher Michael J. Sandel rethinks the role that markets and money should play in our society. Should we pay children to read books or to get good grades? Should we put a price on human life to decide how much pollution to allow? Is it ethical to pay people to test risky new drugs or to donate their organs? What about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars, outsourcing inmates to for-profit prisons, auctioning admission to elite universities, or selling citizenship to immigrants willing to pay? In his New York Times bestseller What Money Can't Buy, Michael J. Sandel takes up one of the biggest ethical questions of our time: Isn't there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? If so, how can we prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don't belong? What are the moral limits of markets? Over recent decades, market values have crowded out nonmarket norms in almost every aspect of life. Without quite realizing it, Sandel argues, we have drifted from having a market economy to being a market society. In Justice, an international bestseller, Sandel showed himself to be a master at illuminating, with clarity and verve, the hard moral questions we confront in our everyday lives. Now, in What Money Can't Buy, he provokes a debate that's been missing in our market-driven age: What is the proper role of markets in a democratic society, and how can we protect the moral and civic goods that markets do not honor and money cannot buy? |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Public Philosophy Michael J. Sandel, Anne T and Robert M Bass Professor of Government Michael J Sandel, 2005 In this book, Michael Sandel takes up some of the hotly contested moral and political issues of our time, including affirmative action, assisted suicide, abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, the meaning of toleration and civility, the gap between rich and poor, the role of markets, and the place of religion in public life. He argues that the most prominent ideals in our political life--individual rights and freedom of choice--do not by themselves provide an adequate ethic for a democratic society. Sandel calls for a politics that gives greater emphasis to citizenship, community, and civic virtue, and that grapples more directly with questions of the good life. Liberals often worry that inviting moral and religious argument into the public sphere runs the risk of intolerance and coercion. These essays respond to that concern by showing that substantive moral discourse is not at odds with progressive public purposes, and that a pluralist society need not shrink from engaging the moral and religious convictions that its citizens bring to public life. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Encountering China Michael J. Sandel, Paul J. D'Ambrosio, 2018-01-08 In the West, Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel is a thinker of unusual prominence. In China, he’s a phenomenon, greeted by vast crowds. China Daily reports that he has acquired a popularity “usually reserved for Hollywood movie stars.” China Newsweek declared him the “most influential foreign figure” of the year. In Sandel the Chinese have found a guide through the ethical dilemmas created by the nation’s swift embrace of a market economy—a guide whose communitarian ideas resonate with aspects of China’s own rich and ancient philosophical traditions. Chinese citizens often describe a sense that, in sprinting ahead, they have bounded past whatever barriers once held back the forces of corruption and moral disregard. The market economy has lifted millions from poverty but done little to define ultimate goals for individuals or the nation. Is the market all there is? In this context, Sandel’s charismatic, interactive lecturing style, which roots moral philosophy in real-world scenarios, has found an audience struggling with questions of their responsibility to one another. Encountering China brings together leading experts in Confucian and Daoist thought to explore the connections and tensions revealed in this unlikely episode of Chinese engagement with the West. The result is a profound examination of diverse ideas about the self, justice, community, gender, and public good. With a foreword by Evan Osnos that considers Sandel’s fame and the state of moral dialogue in China, the book will itself be a major contribution to the debates that Sandel sparks in East and West alike. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Better than Human Allen Buchanan, 2011-07-01 Is it right to use biomedical technologies to make us better than well or even perhaps better than human? Should we view our biology as fixed or should we try to improve on it? College students are already taking cognitive enhancement drugs. The U.S. army is already working to develop drugs and technologies to produce super soldiers. Scientists already know how to use genetic engineering techniques to enhance the strength and memories of mice and the application of such technologies to humans is on the horizon. In Better Than Human, philosopher-bioethicist Allen Buchanan grapples with the ethical dilemmas of the biomedical enhancement revolution. Biomedical enhancements can make us smarter, have better memories, be stronger, quicker, have more stamina, live much longer, avoid the frailties of aging, and enjoy richer emotional lives. In spite of the benefits that biomedical enhancements may bring, many people instinctively reject them. Some worry that we will lose something important-our appreciation for what we have or what makes human beings distinctively valuable. Others assume that biomedical enhancements will only be available to the rich, with the result that social inequalities will worsen. Buchanan shows that the debate over enhancement has been distorted by false assumptions and misleading rhetoric. To think clearly about enhancement, we have to acknowledge that human nature is a mixed bag and that our species has many design flaws. We should be open be open to the possibility of becoming better than human, while never underestimating the risks that our attempts to improve may back-fire. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Lost Daughters of China Karin Evans, 2008-10-02 In 1997 journalist Karin Evans walked into an orphanage in southern China and met her new daughter, a beautiful one-year-old baby girl. In this fateful moment Evans became part of a profound, increasingly common human drama that links abandoned Chinese girls with foreigners who have traveled many miles to complete their families. At once a compelling personal narrative and an evocative portrait of contemporary China, The Lost Daughters of China has also served as an invaluable guide for thousands of readers as they navigated the process of adopting from China. However, much has changed in terms of the Chinese government?s policies on adoption since this book was originally published and in this revised and updated edition Evans addresses these developments. Also new to this edition is a riveting chapter in which she describes her return to China in 2000 to adopt her second daughter who was nearly three at the time. Many of the first girls to be adopted from China are now in the teens (China only opened its doors to adoption in the 1990s), and this edition includes accounts of their experiences growing up in the US and, in some cases, of returning to China in search of their roots. Illuminating the real-life stories behind the statistics, The Lost Daughters of China is an unforgettable account of the red thread that winds form China?s orphanages to loving families around the globe. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Ethics of Sports Technologies and Human Enhancement Thomas H. Murray, Voo Teck Chuan, 2020-07-26 This volume presents articles which focus on the ethical evaluation of performance-enhancing technologies in sport. The collection considers whether drug doping should be banned; the rationale of not banning ethically contested innovations such as hypoxic chambers; and the implications of the prospects of human genetic engineering for the notion of sport as a development of ’natural’ talent towards human excellence. The essays demonstrate the significance of the principles of preventing harm, ensuring fairness and preserving meaning to appraise whether a particular performance enhancer is acceptable in the context of sport. Selected essays on various forms of human enhancement outside of sport that highlight other principles and concepts are included for comparative purpose. Sport enhancement provides a useful starting point to work through the ethics of enhancement in other human practices and endeavors, and sport enhancement ethics should track broader bioethical debates on human enhancement. As a whole, the volume points to the need to consider the values and meanings that people seek in a given sphere of human activity and their associated principles to arrive at a morally grounded and reasonable approach to enhancement ethics. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Our Posthuman Future Francis Fukuyama, 2017-06-15 Is a baby whose personality has been chosen from a gene supermarket still a human? If we choose what we create what happens to morality? Is this the end of human nature? The dramatic advances in DNA technology over the last few years are the stuff of science fiction. It is now not only possible to clone human beings it is happening. For the first time since the creation of the earth four billion years ago, or the emergence of mankind 10 million years ago, people will be able to choose their children's' sex, height, colour, personality traits and intelligence. It will even be possible to create 'superhumans' by mixing human genes with those of other animals for extra strength or longevity. But is this desirable? What are the moral and political consequences? Will it mean anything to talk about 'human nature' any more? Is this the end of human beings? Our Posthuman Future is a passionate analysis of the greatest political and moral problem ever to face the human race. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Human Enhancement Julian Savulescu, Nick Bostrom, 2009-01-22 To what extent should we use technological advances to try to make better human beings? Leading philosophers debate the possibility of enhancing human cognition, mood, personality, and physical performance, and controlling aging. Would this take us beyond the bounds of human nature? These are questions that need to be answered now. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Justice Michael J. Sandel, 2007-09-27 Moreover, Sandel's organization of the readings and his own commentaries allow readers to engage with a variety of pressing contemporary issues. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Gene Machine Bonnie Rochman, 2017-02-28 A sharp-eyed exploration of the promise and peril of having children in an age of genetic tests and interventions Is screening for disease in an embryo a humane form of family planning or a slippery slope toward eugenics? Should doctors tell you that your infant daughter is genetically predisposed to breast cancer? If tests revealed that your toddler has a genetic mutation whose significance isn’t clear, would you want to know? In The Gene Machine, the award-winning journalist Bonnie Rochman deftly explores these hot-button questions, guiding us through the new frontier of gene technology and how it is transforming medicine, bioethics, health care, and the factors that shape a family. Rochman tells the stories of scientists working to unlock the secrets of the human genome; genetic counselors and spiritual advisers guiding mothers and fathers through life-changing choices; and, of course, parents (including Rochman herself) grappling with revelations that are sometimes joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, but always profound. She navigates the dizzying and constantly expanding array of prenatal and postnatal tests, from carrier screening to genome sequencing, while considering how access to more tests is altering perceptions of disability and changing the conversation about what sort of life is worth living and who draws the line. Along the way, she highlights the most urgent ethical quandary: Is this technology a triumph of modern medicine or a Pandora’s box of possibilities? Propelled by human narratives and meticulously reported, The Gene Machine is both a scientific road map and a meditation on our power to shape the future. It is a book that gets to the very core of what it means to be human. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Justice Michael J. Sandel, 2009-09-15 A renowned Harvard professor's brilliant, sweeping, inspiring account of the role of justice in our society--and of the moral dilemmas we face as citizens What are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good conflict? Michael J. Sandel's Justice course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and this fall, public television will air a series based on the course. Justice offers readers the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students. This book is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, one that invites readers of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, patriotism and dissent, the moral limits of markets—Sandel dramatizes the challenge of thinking through these con?icts, and shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well. Justice is lively, thought-provoking, and wise—an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the hard questions of our civic life. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Ethics of Human Enhancement Steve Clarke, Julian Savulescu, C. A. J. Coady, Alberto Giubilini, Sagar Sanyal, 2016 We humans can enhance some of our mental and physical abilities above the normal upper limits for our species with the use of particular drug therapies and medical procedures. We will be able to enhance many more of our abilities in more ways in the near future. Some commentators have welcomed the prospect of wide use of human enhancement technologies, while others have viewed it with alarm, and have made clear that they find human enhancement morally objectionable. The Ethics of Human Enhancement examines whether the reactions can be supported by articulated philosophical reasoning, or perhaps explained in terms of psychological influences on moral reasoning. An international team of ethicists refresh the debate with new ideas and arguments, making connections with scientific research and with related issues in moral philosophy. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Science, Seeds, and Cyborgs Finn Bowring, 2003 Exploring the wide reach of modern biotechnology, from the genetic modification of plants and animals to medical genetics, assisted reproduction and human cloning, it suggests that we are losing sight of the human being in favour of adapting that being to an inhuman world.--BOOK JACKET. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Biotechnology, Human Nature, and Christian Ethics Gerald McKenny, 2018-01-19 It is a comprehensive and critical study of the normative status of human nature in biotechnology from a Christian perspective. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Tyranny of Merit Michael J. Sandel, 2020-09-15 A Times Literary Supplement’s Book of the Year 2020 A New Statesman's Best Book of 2020 A Bloomberg's Best Book of 2020 A Guardian Best Book About Ideas of 2020 The world-renowned philosopher and author of the bestselling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good? These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favor of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the American credo that you can make it if you try. The consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fueled populist protest and extreme polarization, and led to deep distrust of both government and our fellow citizens--leaving us morally unprepared to face the profound challenges of our time. World-renowned philosopher Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the crises that are upending our world, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalization and rising inequality. Sandel shows the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind, and traces the dire consequences across a wide swath of American life. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success--more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility and solidarity, and more affirming of the dignity of work. The Tyranny of Merit points us toward a hopeful vision of a new politics of the common good. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Arguing About Bioethics Stephen Holland, 2013-01-25 Arguing About Bioethics is a fresh and exciting collection of essential readings in bioethics, offering a comprehensive introduction to and overview of the field. Influential contributions from established philosophers and bioethicists, such as Peter Singer, Thomas Nagel, Judith Jarvis Thomson and Michael Sandel, are combined with the best recent work in the subject. Organised into clear sections, readings have been chosen that engage with one another, and often take opposing views on the same question, helping students get to grips with the key areas of debate. All the core issues in bioethics are covered, alongside new controversies that are emerging in the field, including: embryo research selecting children and enhancing humans human cloning using animals for medical purposes organ donation consent and autonomy public health ethics resource allocation developing world bioethics assisted suicide. Each extract selected is clear, stimulating and free from unnecessary jargon. The editor’s accessible and engaging section introductions make Arguing About Bioethics ideal for those studying bioethics for the first time, while more advanced readers will be challenged by the rigorous and thought-provoking arguments presented in the readings. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Bearing Right William Saletan, 2004-10-20 Saletan's Bearing Right is as subtle and intelligent a study of abortion politics as has ever been written. You may not agree with the conclusions, but no one concerned about this issue can afford to miss this brilliant analysis.—Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary Saletan destroys the myth that there's nothing new to say about America's abortion debate. His argument that the pro-choice movement has preserved abortion rights by co-opting conservative rhetoric will make activists on both sides of the debate uncomfortable, which is an achievement in and of itself. There's no smarter political commentator in Washington today.—Peter Beinart, editor, The New Republic Will Saletan is one of America's shrewdest political writers. He brings clarity and intelligence to the roiling abortion debate, in a challenging and illuminating work of contemporary history. If you care about the issue of abortion, you must read this book.—Rich Lowry, editor, National Review A unique assessment of recent abortion politics. Saletan uncovers political and institutional strategies with lucidity and verve. This book makes a raft of challenging arguments--a must-read, especially now.—Rickie Solinger, author of Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the U.S. Will Saletan is a great political journalist with a strong moral sense. He also has an unusually shrewd understanding of what happens when ethics and values meet elections and the legislative process. So partisans on every side of the abortion debate--Saletan shows convincingly there are more than two--will be challenged by his book, at times upset, and always enlightened. Based on exceptional reporting and fiercely independent analysis, Bearing Right is eloquent, important, and surprising. --E.J. Dionne, Jr., syndicated columnist and author of Why Americans Hate Politics A unique assessment of recent abortion politics. Saletan uncovers political and institutional strategies with lucidity and verve. This book makes a raft of challenging arguments—a must-read, especially now.—Rickie Solinger, author of Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the U.S. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Enhancing Evolution John Harris, 2010-09-27 In Enhancing Evolution, leading bioethicist John Harris dismantles objections to genetic engineering, stem-cell research, designer babies, and cloning and makes an ethical case for biotechnology that is both forthright and rigorous. Human enhancement, Harris argues, is a good thing--good morally, good for individuals, good as social policy, and good for a genetic heritage that needs serious improvement. Enhancing Evolution defends biotechnological interventions that could allow us to live longer, healthier, and even happier lives by, for example, providing us with immunity from cancer and HIV/AIDS. Further, Harris champions the possibility of influencing the very course of evolution to give us increased mental and physical powers--from reasoning, concentration, and memory to strength, stamina, and reaction speed. Indeed, he says, it's not only morally defensible to enhance ourselves; in some cases, it's morally obligatory. In a new preface, Harris offers a glimpse at the new science and technology to come, equipping readers with the knowledge to assess the ethics and policy dimensions of future forms of human enhancement. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Choosing Children Jonathan Glover, 2008-01-10 Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its implications? There is no ethical question more urgent than this: we may be at a turning-point in the history of humanity. The renowned moral philosopher and best-selling author Jonathan Glover shows us how we might try to answer this question, and other provoking and disturbing questions to which it leads. Surely parents owe it to their children to give them the best life they can? Increasingly we are able to reduce the number of babies born with disabilities and disorders. But there is a powerful new challenge to conventional thinking about the desirability of doing so: this comes from the voices of those who have these conditions. They call into question the very definition of disability. How do we justify trying to avoid bringing people like them into being? In 2002 a deaf couple used sperm donated by a friend with hereditary deafness to have a deaf baby: they took the view that deafness is not a disability, but a difference. Starting with the issues raised by this case, Jonathan Glover examines the emotive idea of 'eugenics', and the ethics of attempting to enhance people, for non-medical reasons, by means of genetic choices. Should parents be free, not only to have children free from disabilities, but to choose, for instance, the colour of their eyes or hair? This is no longer a distant prospect, but an existing power which we cannot wish away. What impact will such interventions have, both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole? Should we try to make general improvements to the genetic make-up of human beings? Is there a central core of human nature with which we must not interfere? This beautifully clear book is written for anyone who cares about the rights and wrongs of parents' choices for their children, anyone who is concerned about our human future. Glover handles these uncomfortable questions in a controversial but always humane and sympathetic manner. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Better Humans? Michael Hauskeller, 2014-09-11 Developments in medical science have afforded us the opportunity to improve and enhance the human species in ways unthinkable to previous generations. Whether it's making changes to mitochondrial DNA in a human egg, being prescribed Prozac, or having a facelift, our desire to live longer, feel better and look good has presented philosophers, medical practitioners and policy-makers with considerable ethical challenges. But what exactly constitutes human improvement? What do we mean when we talk of making better humans? In this book Michael Hauskeller explores these questions and the ideas of human good that underpin them. Posing some challenging questions about the nature of human enhancement, he interrogates the logic behind its processes and examines the justifications behind its criteria. Questioning common assumptions about what constitutes human improvement, Hauskeller asks whether the criteria proposed by its advocates are convincing. The book draws on recent research as well as popular representations of human enhancement from advertising to the internet, and provides a non-technical and accessible survey of the issues for readers and students interested in the ethics and politics of human enhancement. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Rationality and the Genetic Challenge Matti Häyry, 2010-02-11 Should we make people healthier, smarter, and longer-lived if genetic and medical advances enable us to do so? Matti Häyry asks this question in the context of genetic testing and selection, cloning and stem cell research, gene therapies and enhancements. The ethical questions explored include parental responsibility, the use of people as means, the role of hope and fear in risk assessment, and the dignity and meaning of life. Taking as a starting point the arguments presented by Jonathan Glover, John Harris, Ronald M. Green, Jürgen Habermas, Michael J. Sandel, and Leon R. Kass, who defend a particular normative view as the only rational or moral answer, Matti Häyry argues that many coherent rationalities and moralities exist in the field, and that to claim otherwise is mistaken. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Nanoethics Donal P. O'Mathuna, 2010-06-01 Nanotechnology manipulates matter at the atomic level. It leads to innovative processes and products that are revolutionizing many areas of modern life. Huge amounts of public funds are being invested in the science, yet the public has little understanding of the technology or its ethical implications. Indeed, the ethical, social, and political dimensions of nanotechnology are only beginning to receive the attention they require - outside of science fiction contexts. Surveillance devices may become so small that they are practically invisible to the naked eye, raising concerns about privacy. Nanomedicine may lead to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic devices, yet anxieties have been raised about the impact of nanobots circulating in our bodies. Military applications, or misuses, of nanotechnology raise other concerns. This book explores in an accessible and informative way how nanotechnology is likely to impact the lives of ordinary people in the coming years and why ethical reflection on nanotechnology is needed now. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Impossibility of Perfection Michael Slote, 2011-08-18 The book utilizes feminist thought and other philosophical considerations to argue in a unique way for an ethical picture of human life that stands in marked contrast with traditional understandings. Slote here revives Isaiah Berlin's bold views on the impossibility of perfection in ways that no one has previously attempted. The Appendix describes a new kind of philosophical/ethical methodology that combines and balances (traditionally) feminine and masculine elements. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Classic Works in Medical Ethics: Core Philosophical Readings Gregory E. Pence, 1998 Offers classic, well-written articles that have stood the test of time and have something to teach on the subject of medical ethics. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: From Chance to Choice Allen Buchanan, Dan W. Brock, Norman Daniels, Daniel Wikler, 2001-11-12 This book, written by four internationally renowned bioethicists and first published in 2000, was the first systematic treatment of the fundamental ethical issues underlying the application of genetic technologies to human beings. Probing the implications of the remarkable advances in genetics, the authors ask how should these affect our understanding of distributive justice, equality of opportunity, the rights and obligations as parents, the meaning of disability, and the role of the concept of human nature in ethical theory and practice. The book offers a historical context to contemporary debate over the use of these technologies by examining the eugenics movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The questions raised in this book will be of interest to any reflective reader concerned about science and society and the rapid development of biotechnology, as well as to professionals in such areas as philosophy, bioethics, medical ethics, health management, law, and political science. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: The Strongest Boy in the World Philip Reilly, 2006 Philip R. Reilly is a physician, geneticist, and a lawyer. He is also a storyteller. His new book, The Strongest Boy in the World: How Genetic Information is Reshaping Our Lives,contains twenty engaging stories, each of which offers the reader a delightful excursion that will expand his worldview. As tour guide, Reilly is passionately committed to ensuring that intriguing discoveries lie around every bend in the road. Whether it is speculating on the impact of genetics on the future of sports, the evolutionary origins of humans, the mysteries of genetic diseases, the similarities between dogs and people, the impact of genetic engineering on what we eat, or the ethical dimensions of stem cell research, Reilly offers up spell binding tales. In each of the twenty chapters, he deftly reviews complex scientific and medical information in a manner that offers the reader the facts necessary to debate the value questions. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Editing Humanity Kevin Davies, 2020-10-06 One of the world's leading experts on genetics unravels one of the most important breakthroughs in modern science and medicine. IIf our genes are, to a great extent, our destiny, then what would happen if mankind could engineer and alter the very essence of our DNA coding? Millions might be spared the devastating effects of hereditary disease or the challenges of disability, whether it was the pain of sickle-cell anemia to the ravages of Huntington’s disease. But this power to “play God” also raises major ethical questions and poses threats for potential misuse. For decades, these questions have lived exclusively in the realm of science fiction, but as Kevin Davies powerfully reveals in his new book, this is all about to change. Engrossing and page-turning, Editing Humanity takes readers inside the fascinating world of a new gene editing technology called CRISPR, a high-powered genetic toolkit that enables scientists to not only engineer but to edit the DNA of any organism down to the individual building blocks of the genetic code. Davies introduces readers to arguably the most profound scientific breakthrough of our time. He tracks the scientists on the front lines of its research to the patients whose powerful stories bring the narrative movingly to human scale. Though the birth of the “CRISPR babies” in China made international news, there is much more to the story of CRISPR than headlines seemingly ripped from science fiction. In Editing Humanity, Davies sheds light on the implications that this new technology can have on our everyday lives and in the lives of generations to come. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Greed Is Dead Paul Collier, John Kay, 2020-07-30 Two of the UK's leading economists call for an end to extreme individualism as the engine of prosperity 'provocative but thought-provoking and nuanced' Telegraph Throughout history, successful societies have created institutions which channel both competition and co-operation to achieve complex goals of general benefit. These institutions make the difference between societies that thrive and those paralyzed by discord, the difference between prosperous and poor economies. Such societies are pluralist but their pluralism is disciplined. Successful societies are also rare and fragile. We could not have built modernity without the exceptional competitive and co-operative instincts of humans, but in recent decades the balance between these instincts has become dangerously skewed: mutuality has been undermined by an extreme individualism which has weakened co-operation and polarized our politics. Collier and Kay show how a reaffirmation of the values of mutuality could refresh and restore politics, business and the environments in which people live. Politics could reverse the moves to extremism and tribalism; businesses could replace the greed that has degraded corporate culture; the communities and decaying places that are home to many could overcome despondency and again be prosperous and purposeful. As the world emerges from an unprecedented crisis we have the chance to examine society afresh and build a politics beyond individualism. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Precious Cargo Craig Davidson, 2016-04-12 NATIONAL BESTSELLER For readers of Kristine Barnett's The Spark, Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree and Ian Brown's The Boy in the Moon, here is a heartfelt, funny and surprising memoir about one year spent driving a bus full of children with special needs. With his last novel, Cataract City, Craig Davidson established himself as one of our most talented novelists. But before writing that novel and before his previous work, Rust and Bone, was made into a Golden Globe-nominated film, Davidson experienced a period of poverty, apparent failure and despair. In this new work of riveting and timely non-fiction, Davidson tells the unvarnished story of one transformative year in his life and of his unlikely relationships with a handful of unique and vibrant children who were, to his initial astonishment and bewilderment, and eventual delight, placed in his care for a couple of hours each day--the kids on school bus 3077. One morning in 2008, desperate and impoverished while trying unsuccessfully to write, Davidson plucked a flyer out of his mailbox that read, Bus Drivers Wanted. That was the first step towards an unlikely new career: driving a school bus full of special-needs kids for a year. Armed only with a sense of humour akin to that of his charges, a creative approach to the challenge of driving a large, awkward vehicle while corralling a rowdy gang of kids, and unexpected reserves of empathy, Davidson takes us along for the ride. He shows us how his evolving relationship with the kids on that bus, each of them struggling physically as well as emotionally and socially, slowly but surely changed his life along with the lives of the precious cargo in his care. This is the extraordinary story of that year and those relationships. It is also a moving, important and universal story about how we see and treat people with special needs in our society. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Babies by Design Ronald M. Green, 2007-01-01 Product Description: We stand on the brink of unprecedented growth in our ability to understand and change the human genome. New reproductive technologies now enable parents to select some genetic traits for their children, and soon it will be possible to begin to shape ourselves as a species. Despite the loud cries of alarm that such a prospect inspires, Ronald Green argues that we will, and we should, undertake the direction of our own evolution. A leader in the bioethics community, Green offers a scientifically and ethically informed view of human genetic self-modification and the possibilities it opens up for a better future. Fears of a terrible Brave New World or a new eugenics movement are overblown, he maintains, and in the more likely future, genetic modifications may improve parents' ability to enhance children's lives and may even promote social justice. The author outlines the new capabilities of genomic science, addresses urgent questions of safety that genetic interventions pose, and explores questions of parenting and justice. He also examines the religious implications of gene modification. Babies by design are assuredly in the future, Green concludes, and by making responsible choices as we enter that future, we can incorporate gene technology in a new age of human adventure. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Heritable Human Genome Editing The Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing, 2021-01-16 Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Unfit for the Future Ingmar Persson, Julian Savulescu, 2012-07-19 Introduction -- Human nature and common-sense morality -- Liberal democracy -- Catastrophic misuses of science -- Responsibility for omissions -- the Tragedy of the commons -- the Tragedy of the environment and liberal democracy -- Authoritarianism and democracy -- Moral enhancement as a possible way out. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Democracy’s Discontent Michael J. Sandel, 1998-02-06 On American democracy |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Jacob's Legacy David B. Goldstein, 2008 Who are the Jews? Where did they come from? What is the connection between an ancient Jewish priest in Jerusalem and today's Israeli sunbather on the beaches of Tel Aviv? These questions stand at the heart of this book. Geneticist David Goldstein analyzes modern DNA studies of Jewish populations and examines the intersections of these scientific findings with the history (both biblical and modern) and oral tradition of the Jews. In a series of detective-style stories, Goldstein explores the priestly lineage of Jewish males as manifested by Y chromosomes; the Jewish lineage claims of the Lemba, an obscure black South African tribe; the differences in maternal and paternal genetic heritage among Jewish populations; and much more. The author also grapples with the medical and ethical implications of our rapidly growing command of the human genomic landscape. The study of genetics has not only changed the study of Jewish history, Goldstein shows, it has altered notions of Jewish identity and even our understanding of what makes a people a people. --From publisher's description. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Beyond Humanity? Allen E. Buchanan, 2013-01-17 Biotechnologies already on the horizon will enable us to be smarter, have better memories, be stronger and quicker, have more stamina, live longer, be more resistant to diseases, and enjoy richer emotional lives. To some of us, these prospects are heartening; to others, they are dreadful. In Beyond Humanity a leading philosopher offers a powerful and controversial exploration of urgent ethical issues concerning human enhancement. These raise enduring questions about what it is to be human, about individuality, about our relationship to nature, and about what sort of society we should strive to have. Allen E. Buchanan urges that the debate about enhancement needs to be informed by a proper understanding of evolutionary biology, which has discredited the simplistic conceptions of human nature used by many opponents of enhancement. He argues that there are powerful reasons for us to embark on the enhancement enterprise, and no objections to enhancement that are sufficient to outweigh them. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Contemporary Bioethics Jessica Pierce, George Randels, 2010 Incorporating introductions, readings, and cases that span the breadth of the discipline, Contemporary Bioethics: A Reader with Cases captures the spirit of bioethics as a rich, exciting, and continually evolving field. It covers all the essential topics - including abortion, reproductive ethics, end-of-life care, research ethics, and allocation of resources - and also extends into cutting-edge areas like environmental sustainability, terrorism, neuroethics, immigration, genetic manipulations, and links between first- and third-world health. The book opens with a substantial introduction that explores key differences between secular and religious modes of argumentation. Each of the following chapters contains an in-depth introduction, a selection of concise readings, discussion questions, and a collection of 7-10 case studies. |
| the case against perfection michael sandel: Reframing Rights Sheila Jasanoff, 2011-07-22 Investigations into the interplay of biological and legal conceptions of life, from government policies on cloning to DNA profiling by law enforcement. Legal texts have been with us since the dawn of human history. Beginning in 1953, life too became textual. The discovery of the structure of DNA made it possible to represent the basic matter of life with permutations and combinations of four letters of the alphabet, A, T, C, and G. Since then, the biological and legal conceptions of life have been in constant, mutually constitutive interplay—the former focusing on life's definition, the latter on life's entitlements. Reframing Rights argues that this period of transformative change in law and the life sciences should be considered “bioconstitutional.” Reframing Rights explores the evolving relationship of biology, biotechnology, and law through a series of national and cross-national case studies. Sheila Jasanoff maps out the conceptual territory in a substantive editorial introduction, after which the contributors offer “snapshots” of developments at the frontiers of biotechnology and the law. Chapters examine such topics as national cloning and xenotransplant policies; the politics of stem cell research in Britain, Germany, and Italy; DNA profiling and DNA databases in criminal law; clinical trials in India and the United States; the GM crop controversy in Britain; and precautionary policymaking in the European Union. These cases demonstrate changes of constitutional significance in the relations among human bodies, selves, science, and the state. |
The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic
Sandel defends the therapeutic use of genetic engineering prior to birth to cure or avoid disease, but is sharply critical of those who seek to create the “perfect child.”
The Case against Perfection - De Gruyter
The case against perfection : ethics in the age of genetic engineering / Michael J. Sandel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-674-01927-0 (alk. paper) ISBN …
The Case against Perfection
In "The Case against Perfection", Sandel examines the ethical implications of new genetic technologies and challenges readers to reconsider the meaning of human flourishing in an age …
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to …
The Case Against Perfection Ethics In The Age Of Genetic …
The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is …
Sandel The Case Against Perfection [PDF]
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to …
The Case Against Perfection Michael J. Sandel Chapter 18 pg.
Are advances in biotechnology helping or hurting society? They give us “the ability to treat and prevent a range of diseases and alleviate a great deal of human suffering. The predicament is …
The Case against Perfection - Semantic Scholar
Transforming the Moral Landscape. Parenthood is a school for humility. “Threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a gift, and to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside of our own …
The Case Against Perfection
The Case Against Perfection What's wrong with designer children, bionic athletes, and genetic engineering by Michael J. Sandel ..... Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and …
In Defense of Prometheus: Some Ethical, Economic, and
A chapter in The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering,1 a book by Michael Sandel, the well-known Harvard political philosopher, provides a convenient stepping …
Choosing Chance: Sandel’s The Case against Perfection
The thesis of Michael J. Sandel_s pure and pristine book, The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Enhancement, speaks directly to my discomfort. Sandel offers a …
The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic …
In this slim, elegantly written, and persuasively argued book, Michael Sandel asks whether there is anything morally untoward about trying to make ourselves “better than well” through genetic …
Michael J. Sandel: The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the …
specific cases. Sandel suggests to derive criteria from the respective sport directly: ‘‘Honoring the integrity of a sport means more than playing by the rules, or enforcing them. It means …
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to …
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel 2 (book)
The case against perfection Michael Sandel 2: delves deeper into Michael Sandel's compelling critique of contemporary biotechnology and genetic engineering, expanding on the ethical …
THE CASE AGAINST PERFECTION: ETHICS IN THE AGE OF …
“The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering” (2007) was written by the philosopher and professor Michael J. Sandel. This digest showed questions
Looking for the Kernel of Truth in Sandel’s The Case Against …
Abstract: In his book, The Case Against Perfection, Michael J. Sandel has offered several reasons against biomedical human enhancements that would apply to all such enhancements.
MICHAEL SANDEL’S NEO-ARISTOTELIANISM - Boston University
(1) In The Case Against Perfection, Sandel argues against the “Promethean aspiration to remake nature, including human nature, to serve our purposes and satisfy our desires.”1 So, for …
Enhancement, hybris, and solidarity: a critical analysis of Sandel’s ...
This article presents a critical analysis of the views of Michael Sandel on human enhancement in his book The Case Against Perfection (2007). Sandel argues that the use of biotechnologies …
THE CASE AGAINST PERFECTION. - Berkman Klein Center
THE CASE AGAINST PERFECTION What's wrong with designer children, bionic athletes, and genetic engineering BY MICHAEL J. SANDEL Illustration by Guy Billouf reakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The pmmise is that we may' soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases.
The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic
Sandel defends the therapeutic use of genetic engineering prior to birth to cure or avoid disease, but is sharply critical of those who seek to create the “perfect child.”
The Case against Perfection - De Gruyter
The case against perfection : ethics in the age of genetic engineering / Michael J. Sandel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-674-01927-0 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-674-01927-X (alk. paper) 1. Genetic engineering—Moral and ethical aspects.
The Case against Perfection
In "The Case against Perfection", Sandel examines the ethical implications of new genetic technologies and challenges readers to reconsider the meaning of human flourishing in an age of technological advancement.
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is
The Case Against Perfection Ethics In The Age Of Genetic …
The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness.
Sandel The Case Against Perfection [PDF]
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is
The Case Against Perfection Michael J. Sandel Chapter 18 pg.
Are advances in biotechnology helping or hurting society? They give us “the ability to treat and prevent a range of diseases and alleviate a great deal of human suffering. The predicament is that the same knowledge may enable us to change our very nature.” (Sandel, 229)
The Case against Perfection - Semantic Scholar
Transforming the Moral Landscape. Parenthood is a school for humility. “Threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a gift, and to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside of our own will.”. Essentially.... The idolatry of self is made complete.
The Case Against Perfection
The Case Against Perfection What's wrong with designer children, bionic athletes, and genetic engineering by Michael J. Sandel ..... Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we may soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our
In Defense of Prometheus: Some Ethical, Economic, and
A chapter in The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering,1 a book by Michael Sandel, the well-known Harvard political philosopher, provides a convenient stepping-off place for an analysis of the social issues involved in sports doping. The chapter is entitled "Bionic Athletes," and despite the reference
Choosing Chance: Sandel’s The Case against Perfection
The thesis of Michael J. Sandel_s pure and pristine book, The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Enhancement, speaks directly to my discomfort. Sandel offers a philosophical case against the prospect of genetic engineering, and the hubris involved in the notion of the choice becomes the work_s underlying theme.
The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic …
In this slim, elegantly written, and persuasively argued book, Michael Sandel asks whether there is anything morally untoward about trying to make ourselves “better than well” through genetic engineering.
Michael J. Sandel: The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the …
specific cases. Sandel suggests to derive criteria from the respective sport directly: ‘‘Honoring the integrity of a sport means more than playing by the rules, or enforcing them. It means writing the rules in a way that honors the excellences central to the game and rewards the skills of those who play it best’’ (p. 36).
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel
connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is
The Case Against Perfection Michael Sandel 2 (book)
The case against perfection Michael Sandel 2: delves deeper into Michael Sandel's compelling critique of contemporary biotechnology and genetic engineering, expanding on the ethical dilemmas and societal implications he raises in his influential work. This exploration examines the arguments against pursuing a technologically driven quest for ...
THE CASE AGAINST PERFECTION: ETHICS IN THE AGE OF …
“The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering” (2007) was written by the philosopher and professor Michael J. Sandel. This digest showed questions
Looking for the Kernel of Truth in Sandel’s The Case Against Perfection
Abstract: In his book, The Case Against Perfection, Michael J. Sandel has offered several reasons against biomedical human enhancements that would apply to all such enhancements.
MICHAEL SANDEL’S NEO-ARISTOTELIANISM - Boston University
(1) In The Case Against Perfection, Sandel argues against the “Promethean aspiration to remake nature, including human nature, to serve our purposes and satisfy our desires.”1 So, for example, about the technological enhancement of athletes, he says: “The real problem with genetically altered athletes is that they corrupt athletic competition a...
Enhancement, hybris, and solidarity: a critical analysis of Sandel’s ...
This article presents a critical analysis of the views of Michael Sandel on human enhancement in his book The Case Against Perfection (2007). Sandel argues that the use of biotechnologies for human enhancement is driven by a will to mastery or hybris, leading to an ‘explosion of responsibility’ and a disappearance of solidarity. I argue ...
