Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics

Räikkä, Juha; Varelius, Jukka

This volume gathers together previously unpublished articles focusing on the relationship between preference adaptation and autonomy in connection with human enhancement and in the end-of-life context. The value of individual autonomy is a cornerstone of liberal societies. While there are different conceptions of the notion, it is arguable that on any plausible understanding of individual autonomy an autonomous agent needs to take into account the conditions that circumscribe its actions. Yet it has also been suggested that allowing one’s options to affect one’s preferences threatens autonomy. While this phenomenon has received some attention in other areas of moral philosophy, it has seldom been considered in bioethics. This book combines for the first time the topics of preference adaptation, individual autonomy, and choosing to die or to enhance human capacities in a unique and comprehensive volume, filling an important knowledge gap in the contemporary bioethics literature.

Details

Published by: Springer

Publication Date: 2013-05-29

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9783642383755

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-38376-2

Dimensions: 235cm x155cm

Pages: 201