The Fragility of Moral Traits to Technological Interventions
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The Fragility of Moral Traits to Technological Interventions Joao Fabiano
Received: 1 May 2020 / Accepted: 22 September 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract I will argue that deep moral enhancement is relatively prone to unexpected consequences. I first argue that even an apparently straightforward example of moral enhancement such as increasing human cooperation could plausibly lead to unexpected harmful effects. Secondly, I generalise the example and argue that technological intervention on individual moral traits will often lead to paradoxical effects on the group level. Thirdly, I contend that insofar as deep moral enhancement targets higher-order desires (desires to desire something), it is prone to be self-reinforcing and irreversible. Fourthly, I argue that the complex causal history of moral traits, with its relatively high frequency of contingencies, indicates their fragility. Finally, I conclude that attempts at deep moral enhancement pose greater risks than other enhancement technologies. For example, one of the major problems that moral enhancement is hoped to address is lack of co-operation between groups. If humanity developed and distributed a drug that dramatically increased co-operation between individuals, we would likely see a paradoxical decrease in co-operation between groups and a self-reinforcing increase in the disposition to engage in further modifications – both of which are potential problems.
Keywords Moral enhancement . Fragility . Moral traits
J. Fabiano (*) Department of Philosophy, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 315, Room 1007, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction Deep Moral Enhancement Advances in moral psychology and neuroscience indicate that human morality could soon be enhanced with the use of technology [1]. These technologies could improve moral reasoning, increase co-operation, refine our empathy and enhance other traits implied in human morality; when doing so, they would be hard to oppose on moral grounds [2]. Moreover, currently insurmountable global problems, such as nuclear proliferation, global warming and deadly pandemics, could be addressed once we become morally better people by enhancing co-operation. In fact, Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu claim these problems are so severe, risking our extinction, that we have a moral imperative to technologically enhance our co-operation for their prevention [3]. Douglas [2] coined and defined moral enhancement as any intervention that is expected to lead to morally better behaviours or motives.1 Here I will be concerned with a specific kind of moral enhancement, that is, significant technological interventions directly targeted 1 From the meaning of the words alone, one would be inclined to classify traditional interventions as moral enhancement. Some authors agree with this classification and then proceed to define a more specific term such as biomedical moral enhancement or technological moral enhancement; other authors do not (for a review of def
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