Question 1

What is the most fundamental and nonnegotiable requirement of the transhumanist project according to Bostrom?

Accepted Answer

A)  Global security 
B)  Wide access 
C)  Justice 
D)  Economic development 
A)  Global security 
B)  Wide access 
C)  Justice 
D)  Economic development A

Question 2

What is an example of a self-defeating effect of genetic engineering?

Accepted Answer

A)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children taller because height is socially desired, none of those children would have any relative benefit. 
B)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children look inconspicuous, none of those children would actually look inconspicuous. 
C)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children more intelligent, none of those children would benefit from being more intelligent. 
D)  All of the above 
A)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children taller because height is socially desired, none of those children would have any relative benefit. 
B)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children look inconspicuous, none of those children would actually look inconspicuous. 
C)  If everyone tried to gain an advantage by making their children more intelligent, none of those children would benefit from being more intelligent. 
D)  All of the above A

Question 3

Critics of genetic engineering are typically not critical of

Accepted Answer

A)  GMOs. 
B)  CRISPR-cas9. 
C)  genetic therapies. 
D)  genetic enhancement. 
A)  GMOs. 
B)  CRISPR-cas9. 
C)  genetic therapies. 
D)  genetic enhancement. C

Question 4

Which of the following defenses against paternalistic intervention by the cognitively enhanced is successful according to Wikler?

Accepted Answer

A)  Intervention is unnecessary because the unenhanced can ask the enhanced for help or advice. 
B)  Experience shows that well-meaning paternalistic interventions, even by our intellectual superiors, is not consistently for the best. 
C)  We should be able to make decisions for ourselves, even if we err in the process, because we learn from our mistakes. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  Intervention is unnecessary because the unenhanced can ask the enhanced for help or advice. 
B)  Experience shows that well-meaning paternalistic interventions, even by our intellectual superiors, is not consistently for the best. 
C)  We should be able to make decisions for ourselves, even if we err in the process, because we learn from our mistakes. 
D)  None of the above

Question 5

According to Wikler, which conception of competence makes paternalism particularly easy to justify?

Accepted Answer

A)  The relativist conception 
B)  The absolute threshold conception 
C)  Both a and b 
D)  Neither a nor b (Paternalism is never justified in Wikler's view.) 
A)  The relativist conception 
B)  The absolute threshold conception 
C)  Both a and b 
D)  Neither a nor b (Paternalism is never justified in Wikler's view.)

Question 6

What does it mean to be open to the unbidden? Do you think this openness is morally important? How does genetic engineering threaten this openness?

Accepted Answer

Being open to the unbidden means being r

Question 7

What response do proponents of genetic engineering offer to the Authenticity Argument?

Accepted Answer

A)  Part of living authentically is choosing how to move forward in our lives and how to change ourselves in desirable ways. 
B)  It is not morally bad to live inauthentically. 
C)  Part of living authentically is learning to accept who you are rather than trying to change who you are. 
D)  We can never know whether it is more authentic to receive or abstain from genetic enhancement. 
A)  Part of living authentically is choosing how to move forward in our lives and how to change ourselves in desirable ways. 
B)  It is not morally bad to live inauthentically. 
C)  Part of living authentically is learning to accept who you are rather than trying to change who you are. 
D)  We can never know whether it is more authentic to receive or abstain from genetic enhancement.

Question 8

Savulescu contends that genetic interventions differ from biological interventions in which of the following ways?

Accepted Answer

A)  They alter our biology. 
B)  They alter a person's opportunities. 
C)  They are irreversible. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  They alter our biology. 
B)  They alter a person's opportunities. 
C)  They are irreversible. 
D)  None of the above

Question 9

Talk about:
-Genetic enhancement

Accepted Answer

the direct manipulation of an

Question 10

Sandel asks "What would be lost if biotechnology dissolved our sense of giftedness?" Explain what he means by this question and what you think the correct answer is.

Accepted Answer

Sandel is asking about the potential con

Question 11

Savulescu notes that biological enhancement has which of these potential benefits?

Accepted Answer

A)  It could make humans immortal. 
B)  It could make humans morally better. 
C)  It could make humans more antisocial. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  It could make humans immortal. 
B)  It could make humans morally better. 
C)  It could make humans more antisocial. 
D)  None of the above

Question 12

What does Savulescu conclude from the "lazy parents" example?

Accepted Answer

A)  The best thing we can do for our children is refrain from harming them. 
B)  Since genetic enhancement is wrong, so is providing children with an intelligence-enhancing diet. 
C)  Providing a proper diet is fundamentally different from genetic enhancement. 
D)  To not wrong our children, we should enhance them. 
A)  The best thing we can do for our children is refrain from harming them. 
B)  Since genetic enhancement is wrong, so is providing children with an intelligence-enhancing diet. 
C)  Providing a proper diet is fundamentally different from genetic enhancement. 
D)  To not wrong our children, we should enhance them.

Question 13

The Playing God Argument relies on the idea that

Accepted Answer

A)  only God is able to change people's traits. 
B)  only people who can discern God's will should be permitted to perform genetic enhancement. 
C)  God does not approve of genetic enhancement. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  only God is able to change people's traits. 
B)  only people who can discern God's will should be permitted to perform genetic enhancement. 
C)  God does not approve of genetic enhancement. 
D)  None of the above

Question 14

Sandel argues that _______ is disturbingly close to eugenics.

Accepted Answer

A)  praising effort over gifts 
B)  accepting love 
C)  genetically modifying crops 
D)  hyper-parenting 
A)  praising effort over gifts 
B)  accepting love 
C)  genetically modifying crops 
D)  hyper-parenting

Question 15

If parents genetically engineered their children, what would follow, according to Sandel?

Accepted Answer

A)  Parenthood would involve greater appreciation of children as gifts. 
B)  Parenthood would no longer involve an openness to the unbidden. 
C)  Parenthood would involve greater passivity. 
D)  Parenthood would no longer involve shaping who the child becomes. 
A)  Parenthood would involve greater appreciation of children as gifts. 
B)  Parenthood would no longer involve an openness to the unbidden. 
C)  Parenthood would involve greater passivity. 
D)  Parenthood would no longer involve shaping who the child becomes.

Question 16

Talk about:
-Genetic engineering

Accepted Answer

the direct manipulat

Question 17

Case Study
Jade and Kevin are a happily married couple excitedly planning to have children. Both Jade and Kevin grew up playing basketball and earned athletic scholarships to play in college. Their love began as they bonded over their passion for the sport and they acknowledge that many of their shared values such as discipline, teamwork, and resilience were fostered by their experiences as skilled players on basketball teams.
Jade and Kevin think it would be wonderful to have children who are able to share their love of playing basketball. The whole family could be especially close if they shared this passion, and Jade and Kevin could expect their children to develop the values that so bonded them as a couple. Though much of their skill came from hard work, Jade and Kevin recognize that they were also lucky to have physical attributes that suit the sport. They are both tall, agile, and quick-thinking. New gene-editing technology offers them the opportunity to ensure that their children have this same ideal collection of physical attributes to excel as basketball players.
-Suppose that Jade and Kevin reflect further and determine that, given the state of professional opportunities in sports, having a son who is gifted at basketball will have certain advantages over having a daughter who is gifted at basketball. Would they be justified in selecting a daughter rather than a son?

Accepted Answer

No, Jade and Kevin would not be justifie

Question 18

What is one of the benefits of seeing ourselves as creatures of nature, God, or fortune, according to Sandel?

Accepted Answer

A)  We do not see ourselves as wholly responsible for the way we are. 
B)  We do not see ourselves as more powerful than we actually are. 
C)  We see our traits as totally up to us. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  We do not see ourselves as wholly responsible for the way we are. 
B)  We do not see ourselves as more powerful than we actually are. 
C)  We see our traits as totally up to us. 
D)  None of the above

Question 19

Which argument relies on the claim that genetic engineering will enable those who are wealthier to become even better looking, immune to various diseases, and more intelligent?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Benefits Argument 
B)  The Conservative Argument 
C)  The Inequality Argument 
D)  The Authenticity Argument 
A)  The Benefits Argument 
B)  The Conservative Argument 
C)  The Inequality Argument 
D)  The Authenticity Argument

Question 20

What is the difference between transforming love and accepting love? Use your own example to illustrate both the optimal balance of these types of parental love and the imbalance that worries Sandel in this essay.

Accepted Answer

Transforming love and accepting love are

Exam 22: Genetic Engineering

What is the most fundamental and nonnegotiable requirement of the transhumanist project according to Bostrom?

What is an example of a self-defeating effect of genetic engineering?

Critics of genetic engineering are typically not critical of

Which of the following defenses against paternalistic intervention by the cognitively enhanced is successful according to Wikler?

According to Wikler, which conception of competence makes paternalism particularly easy to justify?

What does it mean to be open to the unbidden? Do you think this openness is morally important? How does genetic engineering threaten this openness?

What response do proponents of genetic engineering offer to the Authenticity Argument?

Savulescu contends that genetic interventions differ from biological interventions in which of the following ways?

Talk about: -Genetic enhancement

Sandel asks "What would be lost if biotechnology dissolved our sense of giftedness?" Explain what he means by this question and what you think the correct answer is.

Savulescu notes that biological enhancement has which of these potential benefits?

What does Savulescu conclude from the "lazy parents" example?

The Playing God Argument relies on the idea that

Sandel argues that _______ is disturbingly close to eugenics.

If parents genetically engineered their children, what would follow, according to Sandel?

Talk about: -Genetic engineering

What is one of the benefits of seeing ourselves as creatures of nature, God, or fortune, according to Sandel?

Which argument relies on the claim that genetic engineering will enable those who are wealthier to become even better looking, immune to various diseases, and more intelligent?

What is the difference between transforming love and accepting love? Use your own example to illustrate both the optimal balance of these types of parental love and the imbalance that worries Sandel in this essay.

Moral Theory

Moral Reasoning

Skepticism About Morality

The Good Life

Consequentialism

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The Ethic of Prima Facie Duties

Virtue Ethics

Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care

Abortion

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Euthanasia

Economic Justice and Economic Inequality

Globalization and Immigration

The Legacy of Racism

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The Death Penalty

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