Question 1

Talk about:
-Eugenics

Accepted Answer

the use of selective breeding

Question 2

Talk about:
-Genetically modified organism (GMO)

Accepted Answer

organisms whose DNA

Question 3

What is the extrapolation problem?

Accepted Answer

A)  The difficulty of differentiating good and bad effects of a social innovation 
B)  The difficulty of calculating how potential benefits weigh against potential risks 
C)  The difficulty of concluding that correlations indicate causation 
D)  The difficulty of concluding that outcomes in one context will carry over to a different context 
A)  The difficulty of differentiating good and bad effects of a social innovation 
B)  The difficulty of calculating how potential benefits weigh against potential risks 
C)  The difficulty of concluding that correlations indicate causation 
D)  The difficulty of concluding that outcomes in one context will carry over to a different context

Question 4

What is the core transhumanist value?

Accepted Answer

A)  Technological progress 
B)  Wide access 
C)  Exploring the posthuman realm 
D)  Individual freedom 
A)  Technological progress 
B)  Wide access 
C)  Exploring the posthuman realm 
D)  Individual freedom

Question 5

According to Wikler, restricting the freedom of those judged to be insufficiently intelligent to handle their own affairs is

Accepted Answer

A)  always immoral. 
B)  routine and uncontroversial. 
C)  unusual and highly controversial. 
D)  a way of "playing God." 
A)  always immoral. 
B)  routine and uncontroversial. 
C)  unusual and highly controversial. 
D)  a way of "playing God."

Question 6

Explains the limits that Savulescu thinks should govern parents in their choices regarding genetic enhancement. Do you think these limits are strong enough to prevent bad outcomes? Do you think they are too strong?

Accepted Answer

Savulescu believes that parents should b

Question 7

Talk about:
-CRISPR-cas9

Accepted Answer

a gene-editing tool that allow

Question 8

Talk about:
-Extrapolation problem

Accepted Answer

the difficulty of co

Question 9

What does Sandel argue is the best answer to why the successful should owe anything to the least-advantaged members of society?

Accepted Answer

A)  Whether we earn something or get it by chance, we have obligations to share our material wealth with anyone who would benefit from it. 
B)  If our genetic endowments are gifts rather than achievements, it's a mistake to think we are entitled to keep all the good that they bring us to ourselves. 
C)  The successful do not owe anything to the least-advantaged members of society. 
D)  Everyone must give to others in proportion to the gifts they receive from the genetic lottery. 
A)  Whether we earn something or get it by chance, we have obligations to share our material wealth with anyone who would benefit from it. 
B)  If our genetic endowments are gifts rather than achievements, it's a mistake to think we are entitled to keep all the good that they bring us to ourselves. 
C)  The successful do not owe anything to the least-advantaged members of society. 
D)  Everyone must give to others in proportion to the gifts they receive from the genetic lottery.

Question 10

For Sandel, acknowledging the giftedness of life requires recognizing that

Accepted Answer

A)  we can remake nature. 
B)  everything in the world is open to whatever use we might desire. 
C)  our talents and powers are not wholly our own doing. 
D)  All of the above 
A)  we can remake nature. 
B)  everything in the world is open to whatever use we might desire. 
C)  our talents and powers are not wholly our own doing. 
D)  All of the above

Question 11

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.
-Jade and Kevin believe that the genetic enhancements they have in mind would not only make their children physically stronger but also morally better. Is this a good reason for them to go through with the genetic enhancements? Would they be less justified in seeking these genetic enhancements if they were not likely to make their children morally better?

Accepted Answer

The decision for Jade and Kevin to go th

Question 12

On what grounds do reasonable opponents challenge genetic engineering?

Accepted Answer

A)  They claim that it is not possible. 
B)  They claim that it has substantial potential harms. 
C)  They claim that it does not yield benefits. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  They claim that it is not possible. 
B)  They claim that it has substantial potential harms. 
C)  They claim that it does not yield benefits. 
D)  None of the above

Question 13

It may not always be morally wrong to change things that have natures because _______ things that have natures are _______.

Accepted Answer

A)  some; good 
B)  all; good 
C)  all; bad 
D)  some; bad 
A)  some; good 
B)  all; good 
C)  all; bad 
D)  some; bad

Question 14

What does Savulescu mean when he says that "to be human is to be better." Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

Savulescu's statement that "to be human

Question 15

How does the prospect of cognitive enhancements pose a problem for civil liberties according to Wikler? How compelling do find this worry compared to other arguments against human enhancement? Defend your answer.

Accepted Answer

The prospect of cognitive enhancements p

Question 16

According to Wikler, the historical record shows that the most central preoccupation of the eugenics movement is

Accepted Answer

A)  race. 
B)  intelligence. 
C)  class. 
D)  gender. 
A)  race. 
B)  intelligence. 
C)  class. 
D)  gender.

Question 17

According to Savulescu, what was objectionable about the historical eugenics movement?

Accepted Answer

A)  The movement was focused on what was good for individuals rather than what was good for society as a whole. 
B)  It was not unified by a single clear vision. 
C)  It aimed to bring about a state vision of a healthy population through coercion. 
D)  The movement afforded too much free choice to parents. 
A)  The movement was focused on what was good for individuals rather than what was good for society as a whole. 
B)  It was not unified by a single clear vision. 
C)  It aimed to bring about a state vision of a healthy population through coercion. 
D)  The movement afforded too much free choice to parents.

Question 18

Transhumanists use the term _______ to refer to the type of radically enhanced human they envision.

Accepted Answer

A)  transhuman 
B)  Homo superior 
C)  future human 
D)  posthuman 
A)  transhuman 
B)  Homo superior 
C)  future human 
D)  posthuman

Question 19

Wikler argues that cognitive enhancements would be problematic if they were

Accepted Answer

A)  substantial and universally distributed. 
B)  minor and unequally distributed. 
C)  substantial and unequally distributed. 
D)  minor and universally distributed. 
A)  substantial and universally distributed. 
B)  minor and unequally distributed. 
C)  substantial and unequally distributed. 
D)  minor and universally distributed.

Question 20

One objection to genetic engineering that Savuelscu considers is that, if we could engineer perfect children,

Accepted Answer

A)  those children would still face inequalities in life. 
B)  the world would be a sterile, monotonous place where everyone was the same. 
C)  those children would resent their parents for intervening. 
D)  None of the above 
A)  those children would still face inequalities in life. 
B)  the world would be a sterile, monotonous place where everyone was the same. 
C)  those children would resent their parents for intervening. 
D)  None of the above

Exam 22: Genetic Engineering

Talk about: -Eugenics

Talk about: -Genetically modified organism (GMO)

What is the extrapolation problem?

What is the core transhumanist value?

According to Wikler, restricting the freedom of those judged to be insufficiently intelligent to handle their own affairs is

Explains the limits that Savulescu thinks should govern parents in their choices regarding genetic enhancement. Do you think these limits are strong enough to prevent bad outcomes? Do you think they are too strong?

Talk about: -CRISPR-cas9

Talk about: -Extrapolation problem

What does Sandel argue is the best answer to why the successful should owe anything to the least-advantaged members of society?

For Sandel, acknowledging the giftedness of life requires recognizing that

On what grounds do reasonable opponents challenge genetic engineering?

It may not always be morally wrong to change things that have natures because _______ things that have natures are _______.

What does Savulescu mean when he says that "to be human is to be better." Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not?

How does the prospect of cognitive enhancements pose a problem for civil liberties according to Wikler? How compelling do find this worry compared to other arguments against human enhancement? Defend your answer.

According to Wikler, the historical record shows that the most central preoccupation of the eugenics movement is

According to Savulescu, what was objectionable about the historical eugenics movement?

Transhumanists use the term _______ to refer to the type of radically enhanced human they envision.

Wikler argues that cognitive enhancements would be problematic if they were

One objection to genetic engineering that Savuelscu considers is that, if we could engineer perfect children,

Moral Theory

Moral Reasoning

Skepticism About Morality

The Good Life

Consequentialism

Kantian Ethics

Social Contract Theory

Natural Law

The Ethic of Prima Facie Duties

Virtue Ethics

Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care

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Animals

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It may not always be morally wrong to change things that have natures because _ things that have natures are _.