Bioenhancements are becoming a promising aspect of science and technology, and with the rapid improvements of technology within the last decade I believe bioenhancements will soon be an issue of ethics as it is more commonly sought after and discussed. Bioenhancements in themselves combine our human biology with technology, creating a human machine, and some people may disagree with this integration of technology and our human nature. Human nature is a topic often discussed in bioethics, often in a religious point of view which as a Catholic seminarian I am familiar with. Therefore, I decided to discuss the topic of ethics of bioenhancements in terms of Catholic ethics and theology, as I believe the ethics need to be address of bioenhancements
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I will discuss these bioethical teachings previous topics as they relate to scripture and correlate in themselves, and I will also make a distinction between therapy and enhancement in my research paper. I believe the difference of therapy and enhancement is important to make in my research paper because of the specificity that is required when acknowledging teachings of the Church. Not to mention, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI (as a cardinal) thought the distinction to be relevant when they discussed human dignity and bioethics, and as previous vicars of Christ I hold a high regard for their opinion and interpretation of the matter. I will be using numerous sources, such as Hollinger, Chesire, Dalrymple, and Tomkins, to get an outsider approach to Catholicism from those varied Christian denomination perspectives. My tentative thesis for this paper is: The Catholic Church teaching of bioenhancements would concern the dignity of the human person, whom despite our finitude and fallenness according to the Church is made in the image and likeness of God (imago dei) while noting the contrast between therapy and …show more content…
When previous bioethical debates in history such as abortion led to societal discord, various political and religious opinions had to state and support their beliefs for the general public, one of which being the Catholic Church. Therefore, as I believe a similar situation of bioethical conflicts will arise in the future, the Catholic Church needs to address its beliefs of bioenhancements through teachings in order to prepare and stand its ground. The aspects of the Church teaching I will research and attempt to formulate are already stated in Catholic theology, similar to how the 1987 teaching of the Church regarding reproductive technologies, Instruction on Respect for Human Life (for short) by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI as stated), used similar theology as Pope Paul VI in his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in the late 1960s that addressed abortion. With the necessity of the teaching in mind that is, like all Church teaching, meant for the general public; so too is my research paper. Hence, my ethos will be primarily based in Catholic bioethics and theology, which I am both familiar with and interested in as a young adult seminarian in today’s controversial culture. That is why I will objectively approach my research paper
I will discuss these bioethical teachings previous topics as they relate to scripture and correlate in themselves, and I will also make a distinction between therapy and enhancement in my research paper. I believe the difference of therapy and enhancement is important to make in my research paper because of the specificity that is required when acknowledging teachings of the Church. Not to mention, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI (as a cardinal) thought the distinction to be relevant when they discussed human dignity and bioethics, and as previous vicars of Christ I hold a high regard for their opinion and interpretation of the matter. I will be using numerous sources, such as Hollinger, Chesire, Dalrymple, and Tomkins, to get an outsider approach to Catholicism from those varied Christian denomination perspectives. My tentative thesis for this paper is: The Catholic Church teaching of bioenhancements would concern the dignity of the human person, whom despite our finitude and fallenness according to the Church is made in the image and likeness of God (imago dei) while noting the contrast between therapy and …show more content…
When previous bioethical debates in history such as abortion led to societal discord, various political and religious opinions had to state and support their beliefs for the general public, one of which being the Catholic Church. Therefore, as I believe a similar situation of bioethical conflicts will arise in the future, the Catholic Church needs to address its beliefs of bioenhancements through teachings in order to prepare and stand its ground. The aspects of the Church teaching I will research and attempt to formulate are already stated in Catholic theology, similar to how the 1987 teaching of the Church regarding reproductive technologies, Instruction on Respect for Human Life (for short) by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI as stated), used similar theology as Pope Paul VI in his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in the late 1960s that addressed abortion. With the necessity of the teaching in mind that is, like all Church teaching, meant for the general public; so too is my research paper. Hence, my ethos will be primarily based in Catholic bioethics and theology, which I am both familiar with and interested in as a young adult seminarian in today’s controversial culture. That is why I will objectively approach my research paper