Reason Round Table: A weekly discussion group for thoughtful, curious people
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Human Genetic Engineering: As biotechnology advances, human genetic modification is transitioning from science fiction to reality. Private corporations are actively investing in technologies aimed at radically extending human life spans and editing the embryonic genome to select "desirable" traits. The marriage of commerce and biology always raises ethical questions but recent advances in gene editing technologies are raising the stakes even higher. The issue can be viewed through conflicting ethical lenses. A utilitarian might celebrate these innovations for maximizing human health and minimizing suffering. A deontologist, however, might be more concerned with the morality of treating human life as a commercial commodity and how these biological advances could further stratify society. Are we fulfilling a moral duty to improve the human condition with genetic engineering, or are we commercializing the genetic lottery and creating an opportunity to further entrench the economic divide?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-22/ethics-of-gene-editing-designer-babies/105496228
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phAmaApZrW0
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01827-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOHbn8Q1fBM&t=123s
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/09/11/the-transformative-alarming-power-of-gene-editing