Biomedical Enhancement : Sandel

What is treatment?

Fixing a disease or health problem

What is enhancement?

Improving someone beyond normal health or ability

Why does Sandel reject the autonomy argument?

Because no one chooses their natural genes anyway

What is the genetic lottery?

The random genes people are born with

Why does Sandel reject the fairness argument?

Life is already genetically unfair because some people are naturally gifted

What is hyperagency bad?

It makes people forget that life is partly a gift

What is the ethic of effort?

The belief that success comes from hard work and control

What is the ethic of giftedness?

The belief that some things in life should be accepted as gifts

What do we lose without giftedness?

Humility, responsibility in a healthy way, and care for others

What does Sandel think we should do instead of enhancement?

Accept human limits and improve society instead of trying to perfect people

What is the designer’s desire for mastery?

Wanting controol or design human traits

Why do people think mastery is bad?

It can seem arrogant or controlling

How does Kamm respond?

A bad motive does not always make the action wrong

What does Kamm mean by intentions reflect character?

Motives show what kind of person someone is, but they do not always decide if the act is wrong

What is Kamm’s blindness example?

Even if a scientist wants control, curing blindness can still be good

What are examples of natural bad things?

• Cancer

• AIDS

• Tornadoes

What are examples of unnatural good things?

• Medicine

• Art

• Technology

What is Kamm’s lack of imagination argument?

People may reject enhancement because they cannot imagine its good uses