Book contents
- Creating Human Nature
- Creating Human Nature
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Political Bioethics of Regulating Genetic Engineering
- 1 Regulation Guided by Proceduralism
- 2 Regulation Guided by Less-than-Universal Standards
- 3 Regulation Guided by Human Nature as Construction, Not Essence
- 4 Regulation Guided by Human Dignity as Decisional Autonomy, Not Essence
- Part II The Political Dimensions of Engineering Intelligence
- Part III Inequality as an Unintended Consequence Locally and as a Planetary Phenomenon
- References
- Index
1 - Regulation Guided by Proceduralism
from Part I - The Political Bioethics of Regulating Genetic Engineering
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2022
- Creating Human Nature
- Creating Human Nature
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Political Bioethics of Regulating Genetic Engineering
- 1 Regulation Guided by Proceduralism
- 2 Regulation Guided by Less-than-Universal Standards
- 3 Regulation Guided by Human Nature as Construction, Not Essence
- 4 Regulation Guided by Human Dignity as Decisional Autonomy, Not Essence
- Part II The Political Dimensions of Engineering Intelligence
- Part III Inequality as an Unintended Consequence Locally and as a Planetary Phenomenon
- References
- Index
Summary
If bioethical questions cannot be resolved in a manner widely acceptable, by rational argument, but only on the basis of political decision-making, then bioethics belongs to the political sphere. The particular kind of politics practiced in any given society matters greatly: it will determine the kind of bioethical regulation, legislation, and public policy generated there. I approach bioethical questions politically: in terms of decisions that cannot be “correct” but that can be “procedurally legitimate.” Two procedures in particular can deliver legitimate bioethical decisions, once combined: expert bioethics committees and deliberative democracy. Bioethics so understood can exceed bioethics as a moral project or as a set of administrative principles to regulate medical practice. It can now aspire to a democratic project that involves ordinary citizens as far as reasonably possible.1
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Creating Human NatureThe Political Challenges of Genetic Engineering, pp. 21 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022