Creating Humans: Ethical questions where reproduction & Science collide

by Alexander McCall Smith

Human reproduction is about life and its perpetuation. If there is anything that we have to take seriously from the moral point of view, then surely that is human life. We value life because it is all that we have which is our own. We construct elaborate systems of belief about it; we guard it through rules we have devised for it; it is everything to us. How we begin human life, how we bring it into existence is a matter of the most profound importance. In this course, we will discuss the various moral aspects of human reproduction from methods of conception to methods of ending a pregnancy. We will discuss the moral, cultural, legal, and political influences on reproduction as well as the scientific advances in reproductive technology. Hopefully at the end of this course we will not have arrived at answers to the various questions raised, but will have provided a base for us to consider the issues at hand and a desire to pursue more study in the important aspects of creating humans.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Philosophy

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this is the author of "Dream Angus" and all the Botswana Ladies Detective Agency books and many others (my favorites being the Scottish ones like "Dream Angus" and the Sunday Philosophers series).
While I don't agree with him on everything, I loved listening to his public school accent (not just "issue" but also "ratio" use the soft "s" sound) and he's so calm about it all, that even when I was in my car shouting "NO", I felt good.

If you like taking a belief you hold and then considering your thoughts based on a different hypothetical, you would like this. I can tell that he taught at a law school.

listening to on CD

[Deirdre Clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is as good an introduction as any to the ethical debates currently occurring around reproduction. It provides an overview of all of the areas that are often the subject of contention, both in academic debates and in the media. These include areas we are accustomed to hearing about, such as abortion, IVF, sex selection, surrogacy, and medical screening during pregnancy for abnormalities. But it also includes areas that will undoubtedly be the subject of ongoing future, fierce debates, such as genetic enhancement (or 'designer babies'), cloning, and 'spare part children'.

Interestingly, there are also chapters on the idea of whether humans have an inherent right to reproduce and on the ethics of population control. The latter subject in particular seems to evoke strong emotions in people, I have noticed over many years, and it most likely will become a subject of further debate in the context of climate change.

McCall Smith touches on the utilitarian ethics of Singer, who is highly regarded by some animal rights communities for his take on that subject. However, Singer has also come out in favour of the idea of euthanizing disabled children, a point of view which, no matter how intricately argued, is deeply disturbing in my opinion and bordering on a eugenicist take on the subject. Since I read Singer's argument on this subject, I have felt completely vindicated in my suspicions that there are serious limitations in utilitarian ethics. Virtue ethics (the tradition that started with Aristotle) is, to me, superior in every way.

Though by no means an authority on bioethics, I've studied ethics on and off over the years in theological contexts and also in a multidisciplinary context, and maybe that was partially why I wanted the book to go into a little more depth on some of the issues covered. Ultimately, this is intended as an introductory textbook on the ethics of reproduction, and it certainly serves that purpose extremely well.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way he pronounces "s"es can be a little hard on the ears. This was a good overview of the ethics of reproduction, but does not go into as much depth as I would like about any particular point. I suppose an hour each is just insufficient time to fully explore these concepts.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly covers the politics issues involved in "creating humans" such as in vitro fertilization, cloning, abortion, population control, etc.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an audio book.

[Mscout · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really just an extended philosophy of reproductive science. Nothing new or groundbreaking. Really a disappointment.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good review of ethical questions as they relate to reproduction. McCall Smith provides few answers but many sides of many questions.

[Barry Mann · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt like an ad lib monologue instead of an organized lecture series