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Case Study Sandel

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Sandel 1. The sense of giftedness is an important part of the human good. 2. There is an increase in genetic engineering/ gene therapy technology 3. Genetic engineering can alter the life for an individual in a positive manner (E.g. preventing debilitating diseases). 4. Genetic engineering would allow for choosing the sex, body build, and cognition for children. 5. Genetic engineering threatens a decrease in our appreciation of life as gift, creating a sense of obligation 6. It is morally permissible to treat or prevent a genetic disorder or medical condition 7. It is not morally permissible to design a child (e.g. Choosing sex, muscle enhancement, memory enhancement, or growth hormone treatment) C. We should not use genetic engineering …show more content…

Sandel fears that with the use genetic technologies will result in individuals undermining the appreciation of the role of giftedness in society. The genetic enhancement technologies would put the idea of giftedness at risk. Characteristics would be seen as given as a matter of parents’ preferences instead of by chance. Sandel argues that the urge to utilize genetic technologies will diminish humanity. A fear associated with designer babies is that the child will have an obligation to perform a certain way in certain situations. Parents may make it so their child will have the body for a specific sport, in hopes that the child will succeed. However, I don’t see how this is any different than parents enrolling their kids in sports (or other activities like piano lessons) at a young age when the child has no interest, when obligation is what we are considering. Children who are placed on a sports team because of their parent’s wishes may feel obligated to participate, just as children who are “designed” to do. The same stands for children who may be “designed” to have a higher IQ. There are a fair number of parents who study with their children, allowing them to study grades above other children their age. These children face a large obligation to preform a specific way. For many of these factors, families that wouldn’t be able to provide long term resources for their children to succeed in school, may be able to help their child succeed if they “designed” their child to have a higher IQ. Families would also be able to ensure their children have a trait that is valued by the family. For some families it may be a specific eye color, a height, or even the ability to identify/produce perfect pitch. It’s not so much a matter of obligation, but whether or not families are willing to give their child the choice to decide if they play a sport, the piano, or video

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