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Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy
Published in: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 1/2021

Open Access 01-03-2021 | Scientific Contribution

The epidemiology of moral bioenhancement

Author: R. B. Gibson

Published in: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

In their 2008 paper, Persson and Savulescu suggest that for moral bioenhancement (MBE) to be effective at eliminating the danger of ‘ultimate harm’ the intervention would need to be compulsory. This is because those most in need of MBE would be least likely to undergo the intervention voluntarily. By drawing on concepts and theories from epidemiology, this paper will suggest that MBE may not need to be universal and compulsory to be effective at significantly improving the collective moral standing of a human populace and reducing the threat of ultimate harm. It will identify similarities between the mechanisms that allow biological contagions (such as a virus) and behaviours (such as those concerned with ethical and unethical actions) to develop, spread, and be reinforced within a population. It will then go onto suggest that, just as with the epidemiological principle of herd immunity, if enough people underwent MBE to reach a minimum threshold then the incidence and spread of immoral behaviours could be significantly reduced, even in those who have not received MBE.
Footnotes
1
I feel it would be prudent to make the reader aware that this paper was written before various governments began floating the idea that targeted herd immunity could be a possible long-term method to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. This is something which I fervently oppose as this is most often articulated in terms of sacrificing the most vulnerable in society to secure not only people’s lives but also economies. While I believe such methods are outright monstrous in terms of tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, I still believe such modelling can be of value in the voluntary vs compulsory MBE debate.
 
2
It should be noted that while this article makes the following assumptions, that is not to say that this article necessarily agrees with such assumptions, or that alternative views or conclusions can or should be disregarded. This paper is merely utilising these conclusions as a means of better framing the debate with which it is primarily concerned.
 
3
This article takes traditional MBE to be those forms of societal practice which aim, via explicit instruction or passive consciousness-raising practices, to improve the moral behaviours and ethical understanding of individuals (e.g. education, socialisation, etc.).
 
4
UH, as a founding rationale for MBE, be it voluntary or compulsory, has been criticised, most notably by Wiseman (2016). While he concedes that the world, as it is currently, is facing significant and potentially cataclysmic issues, this does not, in turn, legitimise the use of MBE.
 
5
It should be noted that in the same issue of the Journal of Applied Philosophy, another significant paper on MBE was published, this one by Douglas. His paper, entitled Moral Enhancement, presented an argument in favour of MBE. However, it does so via a more moderate degree than that of Persson and Savulescu, omitting suggestions to the compulsory and universal application of MBE.
 
6
Where exactly the line is between promotion and coercion is a sticky point of contention and one which Rakić does not elaborate on in any great detail.
 
7
Another term for this effect is ‘herd effect’. However, for the purposes of this paper, the term herd immunity will be employed.
 
8
Ultimate good, in the context of this paper, is taken to be merely the opposite of UH. Whether that entails a continuation of the status quo, or a refutation in favour of a state of existence even more beneficial, is something which this paper does not intend to explore.
 
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Metadata
Title
The epidemiology of moral bioenhancement
Author
R. B. Gibson
Publication date
01-03-2021
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy / Issue 1/2021
Print ISSN: 1386-7423
Electronic ISSN: 1572-8633
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-020-09980-1

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