The debate on the ethical aspects of moral bioenhancement focuses on the desirability of using biomedical as opposed to traditional means to achieve moral betterment. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the ethical reasons presented in the literature for and against moral bioenhancement.

The ongoing debate about moral bioenhancement has been exceptionally stimulating, but it is defined by extreme polarization and lack of consensus about any relevant aspect of MBE. This article reviews the discussion on MBE, showing that a lack of consensus about enhancements’ desirable features and the constant development of the debate calls for a more rigorous ethical analysis. I identify a list of factors that may be of crucial importance for illuminating the matters of moral permissibility in the MBE debate (...) and which could help us move beyond the current lack of consensus. More precisely, I propose three important theoretical and normative standards that MBE should satisfy if we wish to mitigate the concerns about its utter impermissibility. Systematically assessing MBE interventions across the presented categories should provide valuable conclusions about its theoretical soundness and feasibility, its compatibility with fundamental moral norms, and its compatibility with or facilitation of socio-political goals of equality and justice. (shrink)

In Unfit for the Future, Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu present a sophisticated argument in defense of the imperative of moral enhancement. They claim that without moral enhancement, the future of humanity is seriously compromised. The possibility of ultimate harm, caused by a dreadful terrorist attack or by a final unpreventable escalation of the present environmental crisis aggravated by the availability of cognitive enhancement, makes moral enhancement a top priority. It may be considered optimistic to think that our present moral (...) capabilities can be successfully improved by means of moral education, moral persuasion, and fear of punishment. So, without moral enhancement, drastic restrictions on human freedom would become the only alternative to prevent those dramatic potential outcomes. In this article, I will try to show that we still have reason to be less pessimistic and that Persson & Savulescu’s arguments are fortunately unconvincing. (shrink)

Los recientes avances en neurociencia, y en las ciencias de la vida en general, han hecho posible no solo tratar y restaurar las funciones dañadas, sino la posibilidad de algún día mejorar las funciones en la población saludable. Las amplias aplicaciones de la biotecnología y medicación farmacológica se dirigen a los mecanismos próximos que se consideran deficitarios en los pacientes. Recientemente, se ha mostrado como algunas de estas medicaciones pueden afectar comportamientos complejos humanos, como la moral en personas saludables, lo (...) cual abre la puerta para un entendimiento más profundo de la naturaleza humana. ¿Hasta que punto es éticamente permisible alterar la neuroquímica o modular una región cerebral para intervenir en el comportamiento moral?, ¿es intrínsecamente malo la biomejora moral?, ¿cómo podemos conocer los efectos adversos y cómo sopesarlos en un análisis coste/beneficio de una intervención?, ¿la biomejora moral supone una amenaza a la libertad? Considerando dos posturas opuestas, DeGrazia y Harris, sobre los retos éticos de la biomejora moral se sugiere que si los principios tradicionales de la bioética como la seguridad, efectividad y universalidad se cumplen no hay nada malo en la biomejora moral per se y, por consiguiente, es éticamente permisible. (shrink)