PERFECTION, HUMAN ENHANCEMENT, BY GENETIC ENGINEERING OR JUST WITHIN THE LIMITS OF ITS NATURE, CONSIDERING MAN AS A GIFT? AN ANALYSIS OF MICHAEL SANDEL`S ARGUMENTS

Abstract

In this article, I present and critically analyze Michael Sandel’s arguments against the non-therapeutic (or enhancement) uses of genetic engineering. I start with considerations about some trends in the current bioethical debate (section 1), followed by an outline of the bioconservative or anti-enhancement perspective (section 2), assumed by Sandel. I then highlight the way Sandel uses the concept of gift to criticize perfection/enhancement, applying it to two specific cases, the genetic enhancement of athletes and offspring, rhetoric about which I make some critical considerations (section 3). From this, I conclude that the concept of gift is not adequate to sustain a moral ban on human enhancement in free and pluralistic societies.