Ethics of a Transplant: Head or Body?
Date
April 2020
Description
Many scientific experiments and procedures falter at the line of ethics. A head-body transplant could be a revolutionary operation to many fields, giving patients the potential opportunity for a better quality of life. This type of transplant was scheduled to take place in 2016 under the direction of the Italian neurosurgeon, Sergio Canavero. This surgical operation, however, comes with a plethora of ethical questions. This presentation explores these questions through the eyes of two ethical principles: Utilitarianism and Kantianism. Relying on these principles and their ethic-determining factors, different factors of the proposed operation will be discussed, and the potential application of these on other individuals will be highlighted. This is an incredibly important surgery because it concerns different fields such as neuroscience, genetics, philosophy, and many others. The question is: Should this operation be performed, and what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing so?
Presentation Type
Presentation
Ethics of a Transplant: Head or Body?
Many scientific experiments and procedures falter at the line of ethics. A head-body transplant could be a revolutionary operation to many fields, giving patients the potential opportunity for a better quality of life. This type of transplant was scheduled to take place in 2016 under the direction of the Italian neurosurgeon, Sergio Canavero. This surgical operation, however, comes with a plethora of ethical questions. This presentation explores these questions through the eyes of two ethical principles: Utilitarianism and Kantianism. Relying on these principles and their ethic-determining factors, different factors of the proposed operation will be discussed, and the potential application of these on other individuals will be highlighted. This is an incredibly important surgery because it concerns different fields such as neuroscience, genetics, philosophy, and many others. The question is: Should this operation be performed, and what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing so?
Comments
This oral presentation is based on an individual research project.