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Why is it possible to enhance moral status and why doing so is wrong?
1Victoria University of Wellington, Philosophy Program, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. nicholas.agar@vuw.ac.nz
Journal of Medical Ethics
|August 28, 2012
Summary
Post-persons, beings with superior moral status, are theoretically possible but creating them is ethically problematic. Research suggests avoiding actions that risk their existence due to potential moral needs.
Area of Science:
- Moral Philosophy
- Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
- Future Beings
Background:
- Current philosophical views, like Allen Buchanan's, posit personhood as a threshold for moral status.
- Attempts to define or achieve moral status beyond personhood face definitional challenges.
- Cognitive capacities are often seen as constitutive of moral status.
Purpose of the Study:
- To argue for the possibility of post-persons (beings with moral status superior to persons).
- To contend that creating such beings is ethically undesirable and should be avoided.
- To explore the implications of cognitive capacity-based moral status for higher statuses.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
- Inductive reasoning to support the existence of superior moral statuses.
- Ethical reasoning regarding obligations and the creation of beings with enhanced moral status.
Main Results:
- Post-persons are argued to be possible, despite challenges in defining statuses beyond personhood.
- Creating beings with moral status superior to persons is deemed ethically problematic.
- Beings with enhanced moral status may be considered 'especially morally needy'.
Conclusions:
- Humanity has no obligation to create post-persons.
- Actions risking the creation of post-persons should be avoided to prevent the creation of their needs.
- The concept of moral status beyond personhood requires further philosophical exploration.
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