-
31What we can - and cannot - learn about the ethics of enhancement by thinking about sportIn Akira Akayabashi (ed.), The Future of Bioethics: International Dialogues, Oxford University Press. pp. 218-223. 2014.In “The misguided quest for the ethics of enhancement”, Tom Murray makes two related claims. First, he argues that “understanding the ethics of enhancement is deeply dependent on context". Second, he suggests that, as a consequence, we should not look for “a single all-purpose ethics for every form of human enhancement”. In this brief response, I argue that while Murray is correct in the first of these claims, there is an important sense in which he is wrong in the second. His focus on the ethic…Read more
-
506Egalitarianism and Moral BioenhancementAmerican Journal of Bioethics 14 (4): 20-28. 2014.A number of philosophers working in applied ethics and bioethics are now earnestly debating the ethics of what they term “moral bioenhancement.” I argue that the society-wide program of biological manipulations required to achieve the purported goals of moral bioenhancement would necessarily implicate the state in a controversial moral perfectionism. Moreover, the prospect of being able to reliably identify some people as, by biological constitution, significantly and consistently more moral tha…Read more
-
689The March of the robot dogsEthics and Information Technology 4 (4): 305-318. 2002.Following the success of Sony Corporation’s “AIBO”, robot cats and dogs are multiplying rapidly. “Robot pets” employing sophisticated artificial intelligence and animatronic technologies are now being marketed as toys and companions by a number of large consumer electronics corporations. It is often suggested in popular writing about these devices that they could play a worthwhile role in serving the needs of an increasingly aging and socially isolated population. Robot companions, shaped li…Read more
-
21Borders, States, Freedom and JusticeArena Magazine 66 25-31. 2003.What are borders? For many in the movement opposing mandatory detention they are simply expressions of the state. Yes this position cannot give us a coherent and critical politics. Rethinking borders is essential to the project of a genuinely democratic society.
-
367Nanotechnologically Enhanced Combat Systems: The Downside of InvulnerabilityIn Bert Gordijn & Anthony Mark Cutter (eds.), In Pursuit of Nanoethics, Springer. pp. 89-103. 2014.In this paper we examine the ethical implications of emerging Nanotechnologically Enhanced Combat Systems (or 'NECS'). Through a combination of materials innovation and biotechnology, NECS are aimed at making combatants much less vulnerable to munitions that pose a lethal threat to soldiers protected by conventional armor. We argue that increasing technological disparities between forces armed with NECS and those without will exacerbate the ethical problems of asymmetric warfare. This will place…Read more
-
54Revolutionary and familiar, inevitable and precarious: Rhetorical contradictions in enthusiasm for nanotechnologyNanoEthics 1 (1): 57-68. 2007.This paper analyses rhetorics of scientific and corporate enthusiasm surrounding nanotechnology. I argue that enthusiasts for nanotechnologies often try to have it both ways on questions concerning the nature and possible impact of these technologies, and the inevitability of their development and use. In arguments about their nature and impact we are simultaneously informed that these are revolutionary technologies with the potential to profoundly change the world and that they merely represent…Read more
-
34What Pacemakers Can Teach Us about the Ethics of Maintaining Artificial OrgansHastings Center Report 46 (6): 14-24. 2016.One day soon it may be possible to replace a failing heart, liver, or kidney with a long-lasting mechanical replacement or perhaps even with a 3-D printed version based on the patient's own tissue. Such artificial organs could make transplant waiting lists and immunosuppression a thing of the past. Supposing that this happens, what will the ongoing care of people with these implants involve? In particular, how will the need to maintain the functioning of artificial organs over an extended period…Read more
-
326In the hands of machines? The future of aged careMinds and Machines 16 (2): 141-161. 2006.It is remarkable how much robotics research is promoted by appealing to the idea that the only way to deal with a looming demographic crisis is to develop robots to look after older persons. This paper surveys and assesses the claims made on behalf of robots in relation to their capacity to meet the needs of older persons. We consider each of the roles that has been suggested for robots in aged care and attempt to evaluate how successful robots might be in these roles. We do so from the perspect…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |