Jürgen Habermas' Ethics of the Species as a Proposal for Regulating Biotechnological Progress

Abstract

Jürgen Habermas argues that under conditions of liberal eugenics, the self-understanding of the species may change. Therefore, it is necessary to establish regulations that would control the development of new biotechnological methods. This must be done in order to preserve the basis of universalistic morality, which allows individuals to regulate their conflicts in a fair manner. According to Habermas, the self-understanding of the species we had until now assumes that individuals understand themselves as autonomous and equal. Such self-understanding is not possible when one individual determines the genetic characteristics of another. Jürgen Habermas proposes to regulate the development of biotechnology according to the ethics of the species, which is a reconstruction of the conditions of self-understanding we already have. The ethics of the species assumes that individuals should understand that their genetic traits have been formed naturally. Nevertheless, the ethics of the species does not prejudge the use of genetic manipulations for therapeutic purposes, for which, according to Habermas, the permission of future individuals can be assumed without affecting their self-understanding.