2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Prospects of Environmental Ethics in Contemporary Liberal Democracy: Environmental Crisis and Progress in the 21st Century
| Project/Area Number |
15530007
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Fundamental law
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| Research Institution | Kobe University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKURAI Tetsu Kobe University, Faculty of Cross-Cultural Studies, Associate Professor, 国際文化学部, 助教授 (30222003)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | environment / evolution / progress / market economy / genetic interference / Darwin / Darwinism / struggle for existence |
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| Research Abstract |
I have been examining theories of evolution and particularly Darwinism last academic year, assuming that the concept of 'progress' is the key to elucidate the strained relationship between contemporary democratic theories and environmental ethics. Darwinism was also the theoretical foundation of modern eugenics, which considered that having genes that tend to lead to healthy and useful characters makes one's life healthier and better.
I have been working on my monograph from the latter half of 2005, which investigates what Darwinian world view implies on the contemporary normative questions caused by biotechnology and market economy. In January 2007, I finally completed this monograph and published a book entitled Liberal Eugenics and Justice. 'Liberal eugenics' means the political stance which radically extends the individual 'liberty to reproduce and asserts that prospective parents are allowed to select even genetic characteristics of their offspring with a help of genetic technology, particularly germline genetic engineering. Since the practice of liberal eugenics could include the control and manipulation of human nature itself, asking the justifiability of liberal eugenics may not only give rise to such questions as 'What is human nature?' or 'Is human nature sacred and inviolable?,' but also make us reconsider the modern concept of 'progress' which promotes the unlimited control of 'nature,' whether within or without.
The tradition of modern eugenics has asserted that human beings can control their own 'evolution' in place of natural selection. If liberal eugenics claims that the future human race can accomplish its 'self-evolution' through the use of germline genetic engineering, they will certainly be able to control the course and extent of their self-evolution as well. The unrestrained self-remaking of the human beings cannot be their 'destiny.'
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Research Products
(2 results)
