Interfering with nature.
Certain kinds of medical treatment are often held to be morally unacceptable because they are an 'interference with nature'. I suggest a way in which we can make sense of such ideas. We can make significant choices only against a background of conditions which we regard as 'natural', and these will typically include such facts as those of birth and death, of youth and age, and of sexual relations. I argue, however, that such ideas, though intelligible, do not establish any valid moral objection to, for instance, the use of ovarian tissue for assisted conception.
Norman
R
R
Department of Philosophy, Darwin College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NY, UK.
D020811:Biomedical Technology / Q000941:ethics; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D040821:Human Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D019368:Nature; D010684:Philosophy; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000941:ethics*