The Morality of Life Extension
Issue: • Author/s: Mirko Daniel Garasic
Topics: Ethics, Metaethics, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Medicine
Life extension, the pursuit of prolonging human life through scientific and technological advancements, has become an increasingly relevant topic as biomedical innovation accelerates. With the possibility of extending human lifespan becoming more attainable, important ethical, social, and philosophical questions arise. Should we intervene to extend life, and if so, what are the moral consequences? After highlighting some of the most promising life extension techniques currently available, this article explores the complexity of such a prospect, offering insights from a range of ethical perspectives on the implications of life extension and…
Hume’s Law, Moore’s Open Question and Aquinas’ Human Intellect
Issue: Issue 06 • Author/s: Augusto Trujillo Werner
Topics: Epistemology, Ethics, Ontology, Theoretical philosophy
This article concerns Aquinas’ practical doctrine on two philosophical difficulties underlying much contemporary ethical debate. One is Hume’s Is-ought thesis and the other is its radical consequence, Moore’s Open-question argument. These ethical paradoxes appear to have their roots in epistemological scepticism and in a deficient anthropology. A possible response to them can be found in that a) Aquinas defends the substantial unity and rationality of the human being; b) Thomistic natural law is a natural consequence of the rational being; c) Thomistic human intellect is essentially theoretical and practical at…