Abstract

The ethics of human enhancement technology are highly controversial. The purpose of this paper is to provide an ethical justification for the genetic enhancement technology and then extend it to the ethical feasibility of other human enhancement technologies. According to the customs of most countries in the world, the age of 18 is generally regarded as the threshold of adulthood. Non-adults under 18 can be divided into the embryonic period from the fertilized egg to the eighth week and the growing period from the ninth week to the age of 18. Genetic enhancement in embryonic period has been criticized by a series of ethical charges with germline change as the core. Although genetic enhancement in the growing period avoids the critical opinion of germline change, it is still criticized by a series of ethical charges with human-nature change as the core. Genetic enhancement in the adulthood will successfully avoid the two fatal charges of “germline change” and “human-nature change”, while responding well to other ethical charges. The conclusion of this paper is that adult gene enhancement is ethically feasible, and further application of other adult human enhancement techniques is also ethically feasible.

Highlights

  • As for the various stages of human life, cultural differences vary from country to country, there is still some basic consensus

  • The first stage is the embryonic period from the union of sperm and egg to the end of the eighth week, the second stage starts from the ninth week until the age of 18, and the third stage is the adult period from the age of 18 until the end of death

  • Human growing period is generally recognized as the period from the ninth day after fertilization to adulthood at the age of 18

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Summary

Introduction

As for the various stages of human life, cultural differences vary from country to country, there is still some basic consensus. [1]Fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents in their growing period possess human potential and some human characteristics, and so are often treated as human beings They do not enjoy full civil rights, they are treated as human beings in the legal sense and will be given additional preferential treatment. Based on the above analysis, this paper concludes that the genetic enhancement of adults is the free choice and self-risk based on the maintenance of human species and human nature, and so is acceptable. This argument can be extended to other ethical issues of human enhancement technology

Ethical Problems on Gene-enhancement During Human Embryonic Period
Ethical Problems on Gene-enhancement During Human Growing Period
Ethical Problems on Gene-enhancement During Human Adulthood
Summary and Further Extension of the Inference
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