Modern Biological Ethics

Joe Carter, points to a recent announcement in the news of Chimeras being studies in various laboratories around the world, talk radio has also taken up the call as I heard discussion of this on my drive home last night (for I had no Book on Tape to listen to). Biological ethics have been at the forefront of public discourse a lot in the past year, but I think one line of thinking hasn't been explored, but which begs our attention.

Discussions of the ethics related to advances in biology and medicine concentrate mainly in a reactive sense. That is, they respond to what has been done, or what is recently being considered. But is seems more appropriate to formulate a theory of biological/medical ethics from a more fantastic perspective. That is, if we consider as possible everything we can imagine, then what from that larger list of possibilities do we consider ethical. After one comes up with a consistent theory in that "larger" space of what might be done, then when new technology appears, we have some context in which to frame our arguments.

As it is during the workday right now, and I can't take time out for an extended essay. I'm going to postpone further discussion of this for a later post. But I think it is a very important issue, and I will get back to this.