title: The new enhancement technologies and the place of vulnerability in our lives.
abstract: What is the place of vulnerability in our lives? The current debate about the ethics of enhancement technologies provides a context in which to think about this question. In my view, the current debate is likely to be fruitless, largely because we bring the wrong ethical resources to bear on its questions. In this article, I recall an important, but currently neglected, role that moral concepts play in our thinking, a role they should especially play in relation to the introduction of new technologies. I call this the 'contemplative role of moral concepts'. I then contrast two approaches to the contemplative role of moral concepts which are found in the current literature, and show why it is important to keep in mind both of these approaches when thinking about human vulnerability.
authors.affiliation: School of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University, Locked Bag 2002, Strathfield, NSW, 2135, Australia. John.quilter@acu.edu.au.
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Quilter
mesh_terms: D024803:Biomedical Enhancement / Q000941:ethics; D003210:Concept Formation; D034742:Electronic Mail / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods; D024861:Genetic Enhancement / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008393:Marriage; D009014:Morals; D018907:Privacy; D012933:Social Identification; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking; D035502:Trust; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
keywords: Enhancement; Ethics of flourishing; Ethics of renunciation; Moral concepts; Vulnerability