| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 哲學研究所碩士在職專班 === 95 === With medical scientific and technological progress genetic enhancement is becoming a reality that answer the expectations of every parent enabling them to offer their progeny the best starting point, the finest gene and the best capability, so that they have the edge of vigorous competitiveness and development in the next generation..
Once the technique of genetic enhancement is ready, everyone would want to have it implemented. However, though genetic enhancement would fulfill our wishes, there are a lot ethical issues in line. For example, there are worries that it may cause social oppositions, widen the gap between rich and poor, endanger social justice, whether we ought to operate genetic enhancement on embryos, whether it would lead to diminishing the gene pool, whether the autonomy of parents or the next generation be infringed, boundary of genetic enhancement, the handling of the individual in failing cases, its effect of commercialization of life upon human dignity, etc. Before solving these difficult ethical problems, genetic enhancement may bring along unexpected impacts for our society and environment, so if genetic enhancement is to be carried out, it must be critically assessed.
For the evaluation of the impact of genetic enhancement upon the earth and our society, we must be very scrupulously in finding out the pros and cons among them. If it provides more interests than drawbacks, genetic enhancement could be supported and could be applied. But if the drawbacks exceed benefits, genetic enhancement must be curded. Taking account of consequences is the perspective of utilitarianism, and hence a good starting for our considerations. Peter Singer, a utilitarian, and his preference utilitarianism and the principle of equal consideration is naturally the best choice for such discussions. His point of view gives weights to the preference of parents, society, and environment and puts the account of interest in genetic enhancement more in focus. This dissertation tries to evaluate the consequences of genetic enhancement from Peter Singer’s perspective, and analyses the impacts of genetic enhancement so as to provide us some points of reference before we launch the practice of genetic enhancement.
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