Ethics and the epigenetic challenge a bioethical study across the human lifespan
In his dissertation, Joona Räsänen examines what he calls the epigenetic challenge: how we should understand the moral implications that epigenetics raise throughout the human lifespan. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in cellular and physiological traits that are not caused by changes...
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| Format: | Abschlussarbeit Buch |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Oslo
Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo
April 2021
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| Zusammenfassung: | In his dissertation, Joona Räsänen examines what he calls the epigenetic challenge: how we should understand the moral implications that epigenetics raise throughout the human lifespan. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in cellular and physiological traits that are not caused by changes in the DNA itself. Developments in epigenetics indicate that the lifestyle choices we make in the present affect the health and well-being of our future offspring. Räsänen makes an argument that we are partly morally responsible for the health and wellbeing of our not yet existing children. When considering counter-arguments against this claim, Räsänen examines the non-identity problem and evaluates the pro-life and pro-choice positions on fetal personhood. Räsänen also presents an ethical puzzle related to the practice of multifetal pregnancy reduction (aborting one of the twin fetuses). In a series of papers, Räsänen challenges the idea that our age is determined by the number of years we have been alive. He proposes three understandings of age; chronological, biological, and experiential, and shows what problems these views have. Combining his ideas of age and ageing with the development in epigenetics, Räsänen suggests that since it could be possible to calculate a person’s biological age using so-called epigenetic clocks, perhaps some people should be allowed to change their legal age to avoid unjust age-based discrimination. |
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| Beschreibung: | 153 Seiten |