The perfection of vulnerable lives. Genetic modification and disability
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Published:
Apr 5, 2021
Keywords:
disability, transhumanism, CRISPR-CAS9, genetic engineering, suffering
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Abstract
The theorists that defend gene editing techniques without any conservatism argue that they will increase our capabilities and will also avoid unnecessary pain and some types of human suffering. Transhumanist authors such as Nick Bostrom, Natasha Vita-More and Max More not only underestimate the risks of using biotechnology –such as the CRISPR-CAS9 technique– they also assume that living a full human life is directly related to the full enjoyment of our physical and intellectual abilities dismissing some kinds of disabilities. However, disability theorists insist that human limitations should not be seen through the lens of misfortune or in a tragic way; on the contrary, they argue that it is possible to live practically from functional diversity (or disability). Therefore, in this article we will try to test both assumptions based on the idea of disability and, in that way, show if necessarily happiness depends strongly on the functionality of the human body.
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Anchondo Pavón, S., & Gallardo Macip, C. (2021). The perfection of vulnerable lives. Genetic modification and disability. Medicina Y Ética, 32(2), 483–518. https://doi.org/10.36105/mye.2021v32n2.04
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2. Doudna J. A crack in creation. New York: Cambridge; 2015.
3. Fukuyama F. Transhumanism. Foreign Policy. [Consultado el 30 de noviembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/23/transhumanism/
4. Aboites MG. Semillas, negocio y propiedad intelectual tomando como estudio al maíz en México. Primera edición. México: Trillas; 2012.
5. Muñoz Rubio J. Alimentos transgénicos. Ciencia, ambiente y mercado: un debate abierto. Primera edición. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; 2004.
6. Elevating the Human Condition - Humanity+. What does it mean to be human in a technologically enhanced world. Humanity+. [Consultado el 30 de noviembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https://humanityplus.org/
7. Bostrom N, Vita-More N. The transhumanist reader. Oxford: Wiley-Blackward; 2013.
8. Farfán LF, Laguna R. La distinción humano-animal en la modernidad filosófica. Un acercamiento a partir de la correspondencia Descartes-More. Síntesis Revista de Filosofía. 2014; 8(2): 23-42. https://doi.org/10.15691/0718-5448vol8iss2a217
9. Bostrom N, Roache R. Ethical issues in human enhancement. New Waves in Applied Ethics. 2008; 120-152.
10. Lewis CS. La abolición del hombre. Barcelona: Andrés Bello; 2000.
11. Junger FG. The failure of technology.
12. Heidegger M. The Question concerning technology, and other essays. New York: Garland Publishing; 1977.
13. Horkheimer M. Eclipse of reason. Oxford University Press. New York; 1947.
14. Horkheimer M, Adorno TW. Dialéctica de la Ilustración. Madrid: Trotta; 2016.
15. Sandel M. The case against perfection: Ethics in the age of genetic engineering. Cambridge: Belknap Press if Harvard University Press; 2007.
16. Kittay E. Love´s labor. Essays on equality, women and dependency. New York: Routledge; 1999.
17. Kittay EF, Jennings B, Wasunna AA. Dependency, difference and the global ethic of longterm care. Journal of Political Philosophy. 2005;13(4):443-69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9760.2005.00232.x
18. Tronto JC. Más allá de la diferencia de género. Hacia una teoría del cuidado. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 1987; 12: 1-17.
19. Kymlicka W. Human rights without human supremacism. Canadian Journal of Philosophy. Diciembre de 2018; 48(6): 763-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/004550-91.2017.1386481
20. Bolt A. Human Nature. 2019.
21. Habermas J. El futuro de la naturaleza humana. ¿Hacia una eugenesia liberal? Buenos Aires: Paidós; 2001.
22. Human Genetic Enhancements. A transhumanist perspective. [Consultado el 1° de diciembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/genetic.html#:~:text=1.&text=It%20promotes
%20an%20interdisciplinary%20approach,by%20the%20advancement%20of%20technology
23. Bostrom N, Savulescu J. Human enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009.
24. Bostrom N. A History of transhumanist thought. Journal of Evolution and Technology. 2005; 14(1): 1-30.
25. Goffman E. Estigma. Buenos Aires: Amorrortu; 2006.
26. Barnes E. The minority body. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2016.
27. Singer P. Parental choice and human enhancement. En: Human Enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press. 2009; 277-289.
28. Quiñones J, August 14 ALCN, 2017, Pm 4:00. «What kind of society do you want to live in?» Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing. [Consultado el 19 de junio de 2020]. Disponible en: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/
29. Fogel B. Icarus. 2017.
30. Klayman A. Take your pills. 2018.
31. Bostrom N. The Superintelligent Will: Motivation and instrumental rationality in advanced artificial agents. Minds and Machines. 2012; 22(2): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-012-9281-3
https://doi.org10.1007/s11023-012-9281-3
32. This couple want a deaf child. Should we try to stop them? The Guardian. 2008. [Consultado el 30 de noviembre de 2020]. Disponible en: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/mar/09/genetics.medicalresearch
33. Torbjorn T. Medical Enhancement and the Ethos of elite sport. En: Human Enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press. 2009; 315-326.
34. Arneil B. Disability and political theory | Political theory. Cambridge University Press. [Consultado el 1 de diciembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/political-theory/disability-and-political-theory, https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/political-theory https://doi.org/10.1017/97813166940-53.003
35. Campbell FK. Inciting Legal Fictions: «Disability’s» date with ontology and the ableist body of law. Griffith Law Review. 2001; 10(1): 42-62.
36. Campbell FK. Institutional ableism: thinking through inequalities through a different lens. [Consultado el 1 de diciembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https:// www.academia.edu/43939030/Institutional_Ableism_thinking_
through_inequalities_through_a_Different_Lens
37. Campbell FK, Fiona Kumari Campbell (2015). Contra la idea de capacidad:
Una conversación preliminar sobre el «capacitismo». Publicado originalmente como: «Refusing Able(ness): A Preliminary conversation about ableism», en M/C Journal. 2008; 11(3). Traducción de Adriana González Moira Pérez. M/C Journal. 2008; 11(3). [Consultado el 1 de diciembre de 2020]. Disponible en: https://www.-
academia.edu/38513151/Fiona_Kumari_Campbell_2015_Contra_la_idea_ de_-
Capacidad_Una_conversaci%C3%B3n_preliminar_sobre_el_capacitismo https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.46
38. Aguilar Fleitas B. Dolor y sufrimiento en medicina. Revista Uruguaya de Cardiología. 2016; 31(1): 10-14.
39. Piedra J. Vista de Transhumanismo: un debate filosófico. Revista Praxis. 2017; (75): 47-61.
40. R P, E M. Una reflexión acerca de la pobreza y la salud. Salud de los Trabajadores. Junio de 2015; 23(1): 59-62.
41. Horkheimer M. Crítica de la razón instrumental. Madrid: Trotta; 2016.
42. Kittay EF. A Demanding ethics of care. Hastings Center Report. 2020; 50(2):46-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1102
43. Kittay EF. Caring for the long haul: Long-term care needs and the (moral) failure to acknowledge them. IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics. 1° de septiembre de 2013; 6(2): 66-88. https://doi.org/10.3138/ijfab.6.2.66
44. Illich I. Némesis médica. La expropiación de la salud. Barcelona: Barral; 1975.