Overview
In this discussion, you will talk about created forms of life and their intrinsic worth. The purpose of this discussion is to use the example of synthetic biology to think over biocentric ethics.
In Chapter 6 of DesJardins, read the discussion topic “Synthetic Biology and the Value of Life” on pp. 125–127. Use information from this reading, as well as other assigned texts from this Module, to answer these discussion questions from the text.
“Does life itself have inherent moral value?…For many observers, such attributes as sensation and consciousness themselves serve a higher end of life, and therefore they conclude that only life itself seems to be a plausible candidate for the inherent value that moral standing implies. A ‘biocentric’ ethics is an approach that begins with the inherent value of life as its foundational principle of value.” (DesJardins 125)
Are naturally occurring life forms more or less valuable than artificial ones? Why or why not?
Is there an important ethical distinction to be made between life that occurs naturally and life that is created artificially?
Do you think that every living being possesses some inherent value simply due to the fact that it is alive? Why or why not? (Desjardins 127)
