Hi there,

One area that we would like to cover more
thoroughly in BioEdge is how some bioethicists are adapting their ethics to
scientific developments. For thousands of years, it has been thought that some
actions, like murder or adultery, were inherently bad. Now the new field of
evolutionary psychology has “discovered” that good and evil are written into
our genetic code and evolutionary history.

Obviously this upsets the applecart of
religion, but not only that. A growing number of people – the transhumanists —
believe that their destiny is to transcend evolution. Presumably, then, they would
transcend outmoded morality, too. From what I have read of the theorists of
neuroethics, we can look forward to revolutionary proposals in bioethics.

Is this something to look forward to? Or to
dread? Leave your comments on this week’s article about a conference on the new
science of morality.

Cheers,
Michael Cook
Editor

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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