SLIDE ONE / TWO: MORALS IN A BOTTLE
Tonight’s presentation on Moral Enhancement will highlight some of the key concerns in this field of research, whilst also introducing the concept to those of you less familiar with the idea. Then (SLIDE TWO) we will consider some of the ethical and legal problems associated with the ideas of changing the way our brains handle moral decisions.
SLIDE THREE: STRUCTURE
Our structure for tonight will first introduce the idea of moral enhancement, before moving on to interrogate some of the problems with this field of study.
SLIDE FOURE: TROLY PROBLEM
Let’s imagine for a second, you are standing on a railway bridge. With a Fat Man, large enough to stop a train. Below you are 5 people, tied to the tracks. Totally …show more content…
Which “moral viewpoint” should we adopt to measure any possible enhancement against? This dilemma is a reoccurring ethical problem in moral enhancement.
SLIDE FIVE: IT’S A BIG QUESTION
It is obvious morality itself is a very big question.
How can we say to have “enhanced” a person’s morality, if we cannot agree on what that “morality” should look like in the first place?! This problem has been acknowledged across academia, with some concluding that absence of consensus on moral standards in the first place could call into question the effectiveness of any developed moral enhancer.
However, some academics propose that the enhancement of certain traits such as altruism, empathy and a sense of fairness will be for the most part, regarded as an enhancement of “morality” across most “competing (but) reasonable moral perspectives”.
SLIDE SIX: MORAL ENHANCEMENT?
This means, that if we presuppose a certain level of agreement on some universally desirable traits- such as empathy and fairness- we can begin to construct a working definition of “Moral Enhancement”.
The definition I would like to use tonight is
Tonight’s presentation on Moral Enhancement will highlight some of the key concerns in this field of research, whilst also introducing the concept to those of you less familiar with the idea. Then (SLIDE TWO) we will consider some of the ethical and legal problems associated with the ideas of changing the way our brains handle moral decisions.
SLIDE THREE: STRUCTURE
Our structure for tonight will first introduce the idea of moral enhancement, before moving on to interrogate some of the problems with this field of study.
SLIDE FOURE: TROLY PROBLEM
Let’s imagine for a second, you are standing on a railway bridge. With a Fat Man, large enough to stop a train. Below you are 5 people, tied to the tracks. Totally …show more content…
Which “moral viewpoint” should we adopt to measure any possible enhancement against? This dilemma is a reoccurring ethical problem in moral enhancement.
SLIDE FIVE: IT’S A BIG QUESTION
It is obvious morality itself is a very big question.
How can we say to have “enhanced” a person’s morality, if we cannot agree on what that “morality” should look like in the first place?! This problem has been acknowledged across academia, with some concluding that absence of consensus on moral standards in the first place could call into question the effectiveness of any developed moral enhancer.
However, some academics propose that the enhancement of certain traits such as altruism, empathy and a sense of fairness will be for the most part, regarded as an enhancement of “morality” across most “competing (but) reasonable moral perspectives”.
SLIDE SIX: MORAL ENHANCEMENT?
This means, that if we presuppose a certain level of agreement on some universally desirable traits- such as empathy and fairness- we can begin to construct a working definition of “Moral Enhancement”.
The definition I would like to use tonight is