Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement [Hardcover]

Nicholas Agar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2004

In this provocative book, philosopher Nicholas Agar defends the idea that parents should be allowed to enhance their children’s characteristics.

• Gets away from fears of a Huxleyan ‘Brave New World’ or a return to the fascist eugenics of the past
• Written from a philosophically and scientifically informed point of view
• Considers real contemporary cases of parents choosing what kind of child to have
• Uses ‘moral images’ as a way to get readers with no background in philosophy to think about moral dilemmas
• Provides an authoritative account of the science involved, making the book suitable for readers with no knowledge of genetics
• Creates a moral framework for assessing all new technologies

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The options for human enhancement that genetic science may eventually make possible tend to resist evaluation by traditional approaches to ethics, since the central issue is nothing less than what human nature itself shall be. Liberal Eugenics offers refreshingly sensible guidance to the possibilities of cloning, genetic therapy, and genetic enhancement by reference to our ‘moral images’ of more familiar but relevantly similar practices. At once conservative in its methodology and daring in its defiance of conventional wisdom, this book is a lively and accessible antidote to the prejudice and obscurantism that pervade public debates about these challenging issues.” Jeff McMahan, Professor of Philosophy, RutgersUniversity

“With Liberal Eugenics, Nicholas Agar has given us a lively, sophisticated defense of genetic enhancement, challenging the anxious sentimentality of biotech luddites without embracing the naïve, reckless optimism of bio-tech enthusiasts. Readers may not always agree with Agar, but they will be engaged by his original and forceful arguments and his apt and delightful examples. The book is a pleasure to read and a provocative piece of applied philosophy – a rare combination.” David Wasserman, University of Maryland

"A very persuasive case for an informed, liberal though not laissez-faire approach to research." The Guardian

"This [is a] clear, scientifically well informed and philosophically sophisticated study." Notre Dame Philosophical Review

Book Description

Public debate about the use of genetic technology is dominated by fears of a Huxleyan "Brave New World" or a return to the fascist eugenics of the past. In this controversial book, philosopher Nicholas Agar defuses these anxieties and defends the idea that parents should be allowed to enhance their children's genetic characteristics.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (December 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405123893
• ISBN-13: 978-1405123891
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,418,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable contribution to current debates, April 21, 2006

By 

Russell Blackford (Melbourne, Vic. Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement (Paperback)

This book is a valuable and balanced contribution to current ethical debates about biotechnology, offered by one of the most respected of the new crop of thinkers working in the field of philosophical bioethics.

Despite its provocative title, it does not give an uncritical defence of what has become known as "liberal eugenics", i.e. the use of genetic technologies at parental discretion to select the genetic make-up of their children. On the contrary, Agar is opposed to this in many specific instances, and he believes that there would be problems even in developing such a technology ethically.

However, he puts a case that there is no blanket objection to the technology, if it can, indeed, be developed. His concern is to identify the rights and wrongs of specific circumstances - e.g. he would oppose the technology for the purpose of conformity to a dominant racial image.

This kind of nuanced contribution, neither rejecting advanced genetic technologies outright, with a shudder of revulsion, nor embracing them uncritically with libertarian glee, is what the public policy debate needs.