It is better to be ignorant of our moral enhancement: A reply to Zambrano

Bioethics. 2020 Feb;34(2):190-194. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12685. Epub 2019 Oct 22.

Abstract

In a recent issue of Bioethics, I argued that compulsory moral bioenhancement should be administered covertly. Alexander Zambrano has criticized this argument on two fronts. First, contrary to my claim, Zambrano claims that the prevention of ultimate harm by covert moral bioenhancement fails to meet conditions for permissible liberty-restricting public health interventions. Second, contrary to my claim, Zambrano claims that covert moral bioenhancement undermines autonomy to a greater degree than does overt moral bioenhancement. In this paper, I rebut both of these arguments, then finish by noting important avenues of research that Zambrano's arguments motivate.

Keywords: autonomy; enhancement; framing effects; moral epistemology; public health ethic; quarantine.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Bioethics*
  • Biomedical Enhancement*
  • Dissent and Disputes
  • Freedom
  • Humans
  • Morals