sábado, 5 de agosto de 2017

BioEdge: New kid on the block: the bioethics of ageing

BioEdge: New kid on the block: the bioethics of ageing



New kid on the block: the bioethics of ageing
     
There is ever-multiplying number of sub-specialties in bioethics -- procreative ethics, intergenerational ethics, neuroethics, robot ethics, animal ethics, environmental ethics and so on. But, despite constant doom-mongering in the media about greying populations, chatter about ageing ethics is subdued.

This might change if Christopher Simon Wareham, of the University of the Witwatersrand, has his way. In an online-first article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, he proposes “ageing ethics”, which is “arguably even more fundamental and ubiquitous than procreation”.

The great drawback of ageing ethics is that it will inevitably be viewed as negataive and depressing, “with a narrow focus on issues concerning healthcare costs, end-of-life decisions, and increasing decrepitude and dementia”. But Wareham points out that ageing is a life-long process and includes issues like mid-life crises.

He also makes an interesting distinction between “right ageing” and “good ageing”.

Ethical dilemmas related to right ageing concern questions about our duties and rights as ageing persons. What ought the ageing person to do in response to ageing-related dilemmas? For instance, the theorist may ask whether it is sometimes morally obligatory for an older person to refuse a treatment so that a younger person may have it. As a further example, ethicists of ageing may address the question of whether forced retirement violates societies’ obligations towards ageing persons.9
Rather than focusing on rights and duties qua ageing persons, ethical questions related to good ageing focus on well-being. How can we age well or meaningfully? For instance, the theorist may ask which ethical theories allow us to cope best with our status as ageing beings. Which values, goods and harms are most relevant to the ageing person, and which virtues are most relevant to flourishing as one ages? 
The definition of ageing matters as well. Transhumanist writers and their allies amongst bioethicists tend to regard ageing as a disease which need to be cured. Others, like Leon Kass, former head of the US bioethics commission under President George W. Bush, believe that ageing is a valuable part of human flourishing. 
Bioedge
Saturday, August 5, 2017


We have a number of very important stories this week: a paper in Nature about gene-editing human embryos, a rise in euthanasia figures in the Netherlands, some appalling news about commercial surrogacy in India... plus a great interview with Yale bioethicist Lydia S. Dugdale about death and dying. 
But, for better or worse, this is a day for shameless self-promotion. Sorry. I have just published a book, The Great Human Dignity Heist, a collection of short essays on topics ranging from IVF to paleo-archaeology to polio epidemics to euthanasia and cannibalism. Its lurid sub-title is How bioethicists are trashing the foundations of Western civilization
If you live in Sydney, you are invited to a book launch at 1pm on this coming Thursday, August 10, at Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney. Professor Margaret Somerville will be the main speaker. (RSVP to mcook@mercatornet.com.) 
And of course, if you cannot make it, feel free to order a book online
In Australia from the publisher, Connor Court

https://goo.gl/V1vF8V 
In the US and Canada from Amazon (feel free to leave a review of the book!)

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Human-Dignity-Heist-Bioethicists/dp/1925501469/ 
Cheers


Michael Cook

Editor

BioEdge

NEWS THIS WEEK


by Michael Cook | Aug 05, 2017
Is it time to begin talking about a revival of eugenics?



by Michael Cook | Aug 05, 2017
Even if the government has banned overseas clients



by Michael Cook | Aug 05, 2017
A process which is "even more fundamental and ubiquitous than procreation"



by Michael Cook | Aug 05, 2017
Nearly 1 death in 20 is due to euthanasia



by Xavier Symons | Aug 05, 2017
What steps can be taken to avoid future conflicts between family and medical staff?



by Xavier Symons | Aug 05, 2017
Should we abandon arguments for abortion if they also permit infanticide?



by Xavier Symons | Aug 05, 2017
An Australian nurse has been found guilty by a Cambodian Court of running an illegal surrogacy business.



by Xavier Symons | Aug 05, 2017
A British PhD candidate has warned of the darker side of a transhumanist future.

IN DEPTH THIS WEEK


by Lydia S Dugdale | Aug 04, 2017
We need to recover a religious sense of dying, an ars moriendi.
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BioEdge: New kid on the block: the bioethics of ageing

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