Celia Deane-Drummond
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262033732
- eISBN:
- 9780262270632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262033732.003.0104
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter, which concentrates on the question of human moral agency and how traditional notions of conscience and virtue might apply to case-by-case uses of germline modification, highlights those ...
More
This chapter, which concentrates on the question of human moral agency and how traditional notions of conscience and virtue might apply to case-by-case uses of germline modification, highlights those features of the human person that are particularly relevant to the discussion of inheritable genetic modifications (IGM) in terms of ethical practice. It argues that freedom is an integral aspect of humanity, and specifically analyzes how far IGM is in principle a genuine act of freedom which fosters humanity. The chapter suggests that Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of conscience was best situated within his more developed sense of prudence.Less
This chapter, which concentrates on the question of human moral agency and how traditional notions of conscience and virtue might apply to case-by-case uses of germline modification, highlights those features of the human person that are particularly relevant to the discussion of inheritable genetic modifications (IGM) in terms of ethical practice. It argues that freedom is an integral aspect of humanity, and specifically analyzes how far IGM is in principle a genuine act of freedom which fosters humanity. The chapter suggests that Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of conscience was best situated within his more developed sense of prudence.
