Social Science Contributions to Ethical Debates about Human Enhancement

Radical human enhancements, defined as giving traits never before seen in humans, will likely soon be available.  Debates about the ethics of such enhancement have gone on for many decades.  In this talk I report on three results from a large empirical study of the U.S. public’s views of enhancement.  First, I describe the public’s general conclusions about such enhancements, which groups are more and less opposed, and why.  Second, I contribute to the ethical debate about enhancements by examining empirical assumptions often made by philosophers and ethicists.  I examine whether the public will really support the idea that enhancements are necessary for people to discover or develop their authentic selves.  I also examine whether public norms will support parents who try to design their children, which would result in a less open future for the child.

John H. Evans is the Tata Chancellor’s Chair in Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, and Co-Director of the Institute for Practical Ethics at the University of California, San Diego.  He has been elected to the honorific societies in the disciplines of bioethics, sociology and the study of the relationship between religion and science.  His research examines new technologies by combining social science and ethics.  His most recent book is Disembodied Brains: Understanding our Intuitions on Neuro-Chimeras and Human-Brain Organoids (2024, OUP).