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Procreative Beneficence, Intelligence, and the Optimization Problem.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The Principle of Procreative Beneficence suggests choosing children with the best expected lives. This paper explores whether selecting for higher intelligence is morally obligatory, finding it complex and dependent on intelligence

Keywords:
Savulescugenetic selectionintelligenceprocreative beneficencewell-being

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Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Reproductive Ethics

Background:

  • The Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB) posits that prospective parents should select the child with the best expected life from available options.
  • Philosopher Savulescu argues PPB implies a moral obligation to select for non-disease traits like intelligence.
  • Carter and Gordon challenge this, questioning whether intelligence demonstrably enhances well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the claim that higher intelligence contributes to well-being.
  • To determine if the PPB necessitates selecting for intelligence, even if its link to well-being is uncertain.
  • To explore the complex relationship between intelligence levels and expected well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical argumentation and ethical analysis.
  • Examination of existing arguments regarding intelligence and well-being.
  • Development of counterarguments to challenges posed by Carter and Gordon.

Main Results:

  • Higher intelligence is likely to contribute to well-being across most plausible philosophical accounts.
  • Resisting the selection for intelligence requires demonstrating a neutral or negative impact on well-being.
  • The relationship between intelligence and well-being is likely non-linear, complicating the identification of an optimal level.

Conclusions:

  • The ethical obligation to select for intelligence, based on the PPB, remains a strong consideration.
  • The complexity of intelligence's impact on well-being necessitates a nuanced approach rather than a simple endorsement or rejection.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand the multi-level effects of intelligence on human flourishing.