A Greater Freedom: Biotechnology, Love, and Human Destiny (in Dialogue with Hans Jonas and Jurgen Habermas) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780718893194)

How does biotechnology touch on human destiny? What are its promises and challenges? In search for a response, the present volume turns to the thought of Hans Jonas, one of the pioneers and founding fathers of bioethics. The continued relevance of his ideas is exemplified by the way Jurgen Habermas applies them to the current debate. The chief promise of biotechnology is to increase our freedom by overcoming the limits of the human condition. The main risk of biotechnology, as both Jonas and Habermas seeit, is to diminish or outright abolish our capacity for responsibility and morality. It is argued that the greater freedom is not simply freedom from constraints but freedom for our destiny: the freedom to be the benevolent, responsible, and spontaneous authors of our lives, capable of communion and love. The touchstone for evaluating any biotechnological procedure has to be this greater freedom.

Author: Stephan Kampowski
ISBN-10: 0718893190
ISBN-13: 9780718893194
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Language: English
Published: 02/27/2014
Pages: 204
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.50d