Chapter 22 Essay Questions
1. Which argument against genetic engineering do you think is the strongest? Offer additional reasons to believe that the premises of the argument are true. What is the strongest response available to a proponent of genetic engineering?
2. Are social policies that result in unequal distributions of benefits always or usually immoral? Explain your answer with reference to some current or historical social policies that have resulted in inequality.
3. What is the authenticity of the self? Is it morally bad to be inauthentic? Is it possible to remain authentic despite receiving genetic enhancement? Explain your answers.
4. What is the difference between transforming love and accepting love? Use your own example to illustrate both the optimal balance of these types of parental love and the imbalance that worries Sandel in this essay.
5. Identify the strongest argument that Savulescu gives for the conclusion that genetic enhancement is morally obligatory and explain its premises and conclusion in your own words. What do you think is the strongest objection to this argument?
6. Explains the limits that Savulescu thinks should govern parents in their choices regarding genetic enhancement. Do you think these limits are strong enough to prevent bad outcomes? Do you think they are too strong?
7. Millstein argues that labeling GMOs is morally obligatory. In your own words, state the premises of her argument and how they support her conclusion. What do you think is the best available objection to her argument?
8. Explain two versions of the unnaturalness objection to GMOs and the best responses to these objections that you think are available to the defender of GMO technology.