Post-Doctoral Fellow. Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics

Eric Racine, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow with the Neuroethics Imaging Group at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. His current research focuses on the public understanding of neuroscience as well as on ethical issues in the clinical application of neurological sciences.

I propose two moral tests to approach the ethics of enhancement based on two complementing concepts of morality: moral acceptability and moral praiseworthiness. The moral acceptability test requires that enhancement technology fulfill scientific (e.g., risk assessment), ethical (e.g., consent), social (e.g., health coverage) and regulatory criteria (e.g., approval mechanisms). The moral praiseworthiness test entails considerations on the broader desirability of enhancement. Answers to the moral tests are discussed according to three moral-political philosophies: conservatism (morally unacceptable/morally praiseworthy), liberalism (morally acceptable/morally praiseworthy; and moderate liberalism (potentially morally acceptable/debatable praiseworthiness). I argue for moderate liberalism and discuss its implications for researcher responsibility and public policy.