Download Allen Buchanan, Dan W. Brock, Norman Daniels, Daniel Wikler

Allen Buchanan, Dan W. Brock, Norman Daniels, Daniel Wikler
From Chance to Choice
Genetics & Justice
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Challenges of the Genetic Age
Previews of Perplexities
Scenario 1: Genetic Communitarianism
Scenario 2: Personal Choice or Public Health Concern?
Scenario 3: The Quest for the Perfect Baby
Scenario 4: Health Care in the Age of Genetic Intervention
Scenario 5: The Genetic Enhancement Certificate
The Need for Systematic Ethical Thinking
Genomic Research and Genetic Intervention
The Human Genome Project and Related Genetic Research
Modes of Genetic Intervention
The Shadow of Eugenics
Two Models for Genetic Intervention
The Public Health Model
The Personal Service Model
A Third Approach
Ethical Analysis and Ethics Theory
Principles for Institutions
Justice
Preventing Harm
Limits on the Pursuit of “Genetic Perfection”
The Morality of Inclusion
Ethical Theory and Public Policy
Science Fiction Examples, Reflective Equilibrium and the Ideological Uses of
Genetic Determinism
The Risk of Reinforcing “Gene-Mania”
Genetic Determinist Fallacies
Ideological Functions of Genetic Determinism
CHAPTER TWO: EUGENICS AND ITS SHADOW
The Relevance of Eugenics
Optimism and Anxiety
Eugenics as a Cautionary Tale
Eugenics: A Brief History
Origins and Growth
Varieties of Eugenics
The Nazi Debacle
Decline and Fall
Common Themes of Eugenicists
Degeneration
Heritability of Behavioral Traits
Eugenic Ends
Ethical Autopsy
A Creature of Its Time
Why Was Eugenics Wrong? Five Theses
The Public Health and Personal Service Models
Cost-Benefit Justifications for Genetic Intervention
The Social Dimension of Genetics
Genetics Constrained by Justice
Genetics in Pursuit of Justice
Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE: GENES, JUSTICE, AND HUMAN NATURE
Distributive Justice Issues Raised by Genetic Intervention
Including the Distribution of Natural Assets in the Domain of Justice
The Traditional View: Natural Inequalities Are Not a Concern of Justice
Challenging the Traditional View
Equality of Opportunity
Two Variants of Level Playing Field Conception
Resource Egalitarianism and the Domain of Justice
Individual Liberty and Genetic Intervention Genetic Equality?
A “Genetic Decent Minimum”?
Points of Convergence
The Colonization of the Natural by the Just
Blurring the Distinction Between the Subjects and Objects of justice
Justice, Human Nature, and the Natural Bases of Inequality
Three Conceptions of the Relation of Human Nature to Ethics
Genetic Causation, Freedom, and the Possibility of Morality
Human Nature and the Idea of Moral Progress
Genetic Intervention in the Name of Justice
Intervening to Prevent Limitations on Opportunity
Regulating Access to Interventions to Prevent a Widening of Existing
Inequalities
Ratcheting Up the Standard for Normal Species Functioning
Tailoring Environments to Special Genetic Needs
The Obligation to Prevent Harm
Conclusions
CHAPTER FOUR: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE GENETIC INTERVENTIONS
Old Distinctions in New Clothes
Positive and Negative Eugenic Goals for Populations
Positive and Negative Interventions and the Health and Welfare of
Individuals
Moral Boundaries and the Positive/Negative Distinction
Treatment Versus Enhancement: Wide Use, Hard Cases, Strong Criticism
Insurance Coverage and “Medical Necessity”
Treatment/Enhancement and Moral Hazard
Treatments and the Limits of Obligations
Hard Cases and Expansive Views of Medical Obligations
Three Philosophical Models of the Relationship
Questo libro, scritto da quattro famosi bioeticisti, è la prima trattazione sistematica delle questioni
etiche fondamentali che sottolinea l’applicazione delle tecnologie genetiche agli esseri umani.
Esaminando le implicazioni dei notevoli avanzamenti nella genetica, gli autori si interrogano su
come questi potrebbero influire sulla nostra comprensione della giustizia distributiva,
dell’eguaglianza delle opportunità, dei diritti e degli obblighi ad esempio dei genitori, del significato
della disabilità e del ruolo del concetto della natura umana nella teoria e pratica etica. Il libro
inserisce il dibattito contemporaneo sull’uso di queste tecnologie all’interno di un contesto storico,
esaminando i movimenti eugenetici che si sono avuti alla fine del diciannovesimo secolo e agli inizi
del ventesimo secolo. Le questioni sollevate in questo libro, inoltre, sono di interesse per una
lettura riflessiva sulla scienza e sulla società e sul rapido sviluppo della biotecnologia, così come
per professioni quali la filosofia, la bioetica, l’etica medica, la giurisprudenza e la scienza politica.