Do you think that it is important that the moral improvement proceeds from moral formation and spiritual practice as complement to cognitive enhancement? What if morality could be enhanced directly? For instance to make someone more compassionate, or less prone to anger/jealousy/lust, or something of the sort? Would those be fine, or would that be to go too far and to pervert human nature?
Great question Alina. Yes, moral and spiritual formation must lead cognitive enhancement.
As to what the best thing to do is – use genetic engineering, or pharmacological means? Yes, I’ve had that question from others.
I have half-written blog on a topic that actually relates quite closely: designer babies. Yes in our society we expect that compassion, empathy, and reduction of anger, jealousy, and lust are important values to us in a Christian and post-Christian society.
There are two problems. Firstly, we do need to take care with unintended consequences. Empathic people are easy to manipulate. Crowds of empathic people can be swayed by one photo of one starving child, while millions die elsewhere ignored. Whilst empathy is important in inter-personal relationships, there is strong evidence that it leads to mis-allocation of resources at a political level. Rational compassion, as argued by Paul Bloom in “Against Empathy”, is a higher value in politics and society.
Further, whilst we in the Christian and post-Christian west have our ideals, they are not universal. In other societies with different values bases, the ideals of the perfect human might be very different. Dictatorial leaders might value patriotism, ruthlessness, the purity of race, and a win-at-all-costs mentality. Indeed this has been fashionable in the west in living memory.
Even in the west today, we highly value those who self-sacrifice, for example fire-fighters, volunteers to the homeless etc. There are many dimensions to ethical ideals, not just empathy, but bravery, discipline, speaking truth to power, working hard to solve problems etc.
Jesus said we should be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We should be angry without sinning. We are urged in Hebrews to consider those who bravely led the nation in righteousness.
So whilst empathy is fashionable in large circles today, we must take great care messing with human nature using genetic manipulation or pharmacological means, in case we have unintended consequences. Moving people towards a one particular positive trait rather than the roudned out likeness of Christ is a risk, don't you think?
Do you think that it is important that the moral improvement proceeds from moral formation and spiritual practice as complement to cognitive enhancement? What if morality could be enhanced directly? For instance to make someone more compassionate, or less prone to anger/jealousy/lust, or something of the sort? Would those be fine, or would that be to go too far and to pervert human nature?
Great question Alina. Yes, moral and spiritual formation must lead cognitive enhancement.
As to what the best thing to do is – use genetic engineering, or pharmacological means? Yes, I’ve had that question from others.
I have half-written blog on a topic that actually relates quite closely: designer babies. Yes in our society we expect that compassion, empathy, and reduction of anger, jealousy, and lust are important values to us in a Christian and post-Christian society.
There are two problems. Firstly, we do need to take care with unintended consequences. Empathic people are easy to manipulate. Crowds of empathic people can be swayed by one photo of one starving child, while millions die elsewhere ignored. Whilst empathy is important in inter-personal relationships, there is strong evidence that it leads to mis-allocation of resources at a political level. Rational compassion, as argued by Paul Bloom in “Against Empathy”, is a higher value in politics and society.
Further, whilst we in the Christian and post-Christian west have our ideals, they are not universal. In other societies with different values bases, the ideals of the perfect human might be very different. Dictatorial leaders might value patriotism, ruthlessness, the purity of race, and a win-at-all-costs mentality. Indeed this has been fashionable in the west in living memory.
Even in the west today, we highly value those who self-sacrifice, for example fire-fighters, volunteers to the homeless etc. There are many dimensions to ethical ideals, not just empathy, but bravery, discipline, speaking truth to power, working hard to solve problems etc.
Jesus said we should be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We should be angry without sinning. We are urged in Hebrews to consider those who bravely led the nation in righteousness.
So whilst empathy is fashionable in large circles today, we must take great care messing with human nature using genetic manipulation or pharmacological means, in case we have unintended consequences. Moving people towards a one particular positive trait rather than the roudned out likeness of Christ is a risk, don't you think?