Philosophical Analysis of the Problem of Human Improvement in the Expansion of the Possibilities of Biotechnology

Abstract

The paper examines the transformation of ethical norms governing the activities of “eugenicists” in the context of increasing opportunities for biotechnology. The main question is formulated as follows: whether the successes of science bring novelty to the “humanitarian” sphere of eugenics. Eugenic discourse since its formation in ancient times is characterized by repetitive structural elements, such as the thesis of the degeneration of man in the course of civilizational de­velopment, a reference to “scientific” knowledge and an appeal to power struc­tures as the force that should carry out eugenic transformations in society. It is also noted that at all times eugenic programs have represented a certain chal­lenge to public morality, since the improvement of the “human breed” reduces man to the position of an agricultural animal. The development of biotechnology has made it really possible to adjust the genome (for the first time since the birth of the eugenic idea). However, ethical standards have not changed significantly since the criticism of racial hygiene programs. The progress of biotechnology gives the impression that significant progress is taking place in the “humanitar­ian” part of eugenics. However, a balanced analysis shows that completely dif­ferent processes are taking place in this area. Thus, the turn towards the liberal project marks the abandonment of the central task of classical eugenics, namely the improvement of the species homo sapiens. Whereas the goal of liberal eugen­ics is to correct individual genomes, which cannot significantly affect the ge­nome of mankind. The use of digital technologies, in addition to the direct pur­pose of processing large amounts of data, also serves to blur responsibility for interfering with the human genome, since part of the decisions (for example, di­agnosis and determination of the treatment strategy) are transferred to machine intelligence. This circumstance shows that the search for new arguments in favor of (or against) eugenic policy will be appropriate and in demand.