Moral Challenges of Liberal Eugenics Based on the Principle of Justice

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. in Ethics, Baqer al-Uloom University, Qom, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Research Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture, Qom, Iran

Abstract

For a long time, human beings have been wishing to improve the genetic composition of their generation and clearing it of some disabilities and defects, and this concern has always been pursued in different ways in different eras. The existence of authoritarian and racist policies and discriminatory methods in the old Eugenics made it easy to rule that it was immoral, but it is somewhat difficult to judge the liberal and new Eugenics because one group, citing the scientific contexts and social contexts resulting from the advances in genetics and the values of liberal societies, dictates its moralization, while the other group, despite these contexts, still retains the relevant ethical challenges.
One of these important challenges is the violation of the principle of justice, albeit in a different way than in the past. Injustice in the old Eugenics was discriminatory due to the imposition of a Eugenics program on a particular class, and the manifestation of injustice in the new Eugenics is that by prescribing that its benefits belong to certain classes, it is not possible for the public to benefit from it. The author of this article believes that various ethical challenges still exist in the liberal and modern Eugenics program with a focus on the principle of justice, and the present article seeks to identify, examine and analyze them from a point of view.
The findings of this paper are that some of the ethical considerations related to the application of the principle of justice to Eugenics are:

Although some solutions may be effective at some level, it is not possible to provide an absolute and general solution for all cases of breeding.
Bioethical issues such as Eugenics due to their multifaceted nature, need the consideration of the requirements of various principles and some contextual considerations related to cultural and social conditions and indigenous and regional situations.
It is necessary to have appropriate programs to eliminate the factors that incite immoral attitudes and prejudices against the disabled.
Despite the context in which it has been made, advocates of liberal Eugenics themselves admit that the challenge of discrimination remains and have an unprecedented impact on genocide and the rise of racism.
The well-being of individuals in society depends on the fair distribution of the benefits and resources of Eugenics in a fair social context, and the prescription and distribution of these resources in a society with defective and unjust structures will not have the desired effect.

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