Crone, D., and Levy, N., (2019), 'Are free will believers nicer people? (Four studies suggest not)', Social Psychological and Personality Science, Vol: 10(5): 612–619 [PMC6542011]
One approach to defining enhancement is in the form of bodily or mental changes that tend to improve a person’s well-being. Such a “welfarist account”, however, seems to conflict with moral enhancement: consider an intervention that improves someone’s moral motives but which ultimately diminishes their well-being. According to the welfarist account, this would not be an instance of enhancement—in fact, as I argue, it would count as a disability. This seems to pose a serious limitation for the account. Here, I elaborate on this limitation and argue that, despite it, there is a crucial role for such a welfarist account to play in our practical deliberations about moral enhancement. I do this by exploring four scenarios where a person’s motives are improved at the cost of their well-being. A framework emerges from these scenarios which can clarify disagreements about moral enhancement and help sharpen arguments for and against it. [continue reading...]
Grant: 'Responsibility and Healthcare' | Wellcome Trust 104848/Z/14/Z | PI: Professor Julian Savulescu | Open Access papers linked to this grant on EuropePMC
More open access papers here.
