1 Leuven Utopia for our times 29 September 2016John Harris : The utopia of the enhanced body and The Ethical Challenges of Crispr 9 ? Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Center Helesi./ Europè UCL
2 Paradox of utopia , dystopia and protopiaUtopia anticipatory theory aiming at human perfectibility and enhancement Dystopia : failure of of human capabilities to enhance themselves …or the dark side of the force …. Protopia is a Process towards a concrete utopia taking seriously bodily determinism and the tension between nature , history and technology your ideal or hope could be defined as protopia Have We replaced historical process and human agentivity by enhancement technology? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
3 Crispr 9 Presents us with a promise and a predicament« To enhance our evolution » in J. Harris terms We still have to elaborate a biopolitics that would tell us beyond the « yuck effect « that generally is produced by novelty or alterity -What is wrong with reengineering our Nature ? Is our conservative idea of Human nature the problem? (Habermas) Should we elaborate a more plastic notion of Nature that would not hurt our fixist vision of human dignity? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
4 Homologous recombination and Crispr 9-Recent advances to edit the genome Using Crispr cas 9 are undoubtedly a technical « revolution » with huge consequences, and thus potential conflict of interest and representations of anthropological risks and benefice of the technic for our representation of ourselves as overcoming the destiny of determinate finite and vulnerable beings . How serious is that in terms of our real knowledge of consequences allowing to go from clinical research to treatment? Is it mainly a rational hope? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
5 Efficient mutation “It enables efficient mutation , repair and tagging of endogenous locin a rapid and predictable manner” Efficiency, predictibility of mutation is not a utopia but a concrete possibility to adress disease and aging of cells due to genome inadequate mutations ? Why and on what ground should we refuse the use of such an efficient tool to enhance the functioning of our body that conditions our moral enhancement? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
6 The ethical issues around “new scissors”The expression human enhancement refers to actual or potential actions that aim at increasing the possibilities of the human body and as a consequence « alter human nature » Nature is a concept that requires further analysis because of our very plasticity, both biological and social. We should analyze the link between Crispr and questions the fear or hope around enhancement s leading to an erosion of character for happy fews that don’t have to struggle for life, and thus enhance inequality among humans. 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
7 Biological and / or moral enhancement forJohn Harris ‘Th e opposition to enhancement rely on the inadequate idea that humanity biological evolution is over and that we are at the end of history : I agree Or worse that Nature always does best so that it is immoral to enhance human reproduction or capabilities: I agree But enhancing our bodies is not sufficient to lead to moral enhancement so isnt the term too broad to adress the question of utopia of an enhancement that would free us from any biological determinism? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
8 Bodyly physical plasticity and its limitsEditing the metaphors of genome editing as a cure for our imperfect bodies I will address bioethical regulations around CRISPR9 ethical debat , and challenge what these regulations can do for us in terms of, ideals of production and reproduction Can CRISPR 9 enzyme biologically repair all our inadequate gene and respond to the question of what a true body, ie a body with no editing errors ? Doesn’t it sound like a naïve version of utopia? « 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
9 Utopia of disembodiement?The process of disembodiement is speeding up .Scientists have come to a startling realization the essence of life does not reside in forms like DNA , tissue or flesh but in the untangible organisation of the energy and information contained on those material forms” What an utopia of th body can we derive from that? You define utoia as a mere realisation of an ideal not preoccuped by the division between natural and artificial eternal life seems to be your ideal. And the founation of your ethics since “the Value of life “ in 1985 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
10 Utopia of eternity Paradox of a disembodied eternity ?If utopia is an anticipatory theory isnt it naïve again to think that is is causally liberating from our bodily determinisms? Ancient philosophy talked about the perfectibility of an evil man , conceiving the link between freedom and equality on a contradictory mode It does not seem to be the case in your own theory of enhancement since moral enhancement is aconsequence of biological enhancement and longevity 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
11 rationalization of hopesCan Crispr 9 help us realize John Harris hope and enhance evolution? What is Crispr 9?” It is a robust genome editing technology that works indifferentially in human cells , animals and plants based on the RNA programmed DNA cleaving activity of the Cas 9 enzyme. New genetic information can be introduced site specifically by homology directed repairof Cas 9 –induced site specific double strand DNA breaks using time delivery of Cas 9 guide RNA complexes” Cant it help us make “better people? “ what is the link between enhancing evolution and making better people? (Pictorius example) 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
12 Our Inserm White paper main points :The impact of this technique concerns : somatic cells germinal cells embryos but also environment and biosafety , future generations More importantly it challenges the limits of what we consider as a legitimate intervention on the individual body, and its effect on the collective genome of our species and mostly supports Sandel case “against perfection” as leading to dystopiawithout closing the door to the utopian dimension of cure it makes possible. l 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
13 Main recommendation As the situation stands no international consensus like the one that resulted from Asylomar in 1975, is considered as the best way to promote good research practice. - The recommendation is to foster research and assess the feasibility, the efficacy of CRISPR 9 technology, in experimental models in which the benefit to harm balance of any potential clinical application can be assessed. (mixed perspective using principles and pragmatic arguments ) 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
14 Potential adverse effects« Potential adverse effects of gene drive ought to be thoroughly evaluated and mitigated before any clinical or environmental trials are undertaken outside the laboratory, with strict confinement precautions …. Given the transmissible nature of a guide gene, assessments will have to be made over a long period.” Will you be patient enough? Or do you think it is a duty to take the risk? Will you take it? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
15 What's new under the sun? - »The delirious ambition to « redesign the planet » invokes in J. Harris words the catch phrase of comic book hero Spiderman « With great power comes great responsibility » What are the responsibilities ? Can they limit freedomof research? « Ensure that the genome editing benefits the majority of humanity rather than stuffing the coffers of vast corporations » says Parrington could you argue that converging technologies are not exactly oriented only towards moral enhancement ? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
16 Enhancing our bodies through genome editing: biopolitics of utopia-Should there be theoretical or ethical limits to enhancing our bodies through gene editing ? Aren't we merely revealing potentials inscribed in Nature rather than altering it ? - for you John Harris In « Enhancing evolution” there are no limits since there is no clear danger. Your optimism is more rational than irrational fear and is guided by educated hope but this hope of enhancing self conservation has been expressed earlier in enlightenment by rationalists such as Diderot or Condorcet. The goal was to enhance our freedom from our very natural determinisms, against nature. The paradox today is that our responsibility extands to the preservation of Nature as a global and vulnerable body …SO? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
17 Bioethics and anticipation of enhancement consequencesEnhancement is a new biopolitics raising new questions: Has humankind a future ? if enhancement is a moral duty what and whom are tou talking about? Should we limit the definition of enhancements and explain why they can but do not ought to matter? Immortality boring , exiting and again for whom with what consequences for the multitude ? . 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
18 Rhetoric of fear and/or hope are useless-Ethics is about « how do you do good « answers Harris - But How do you define in context what is the best solution or the less evil one in terms of concrete capabilities? Harris argues we need to give reasons about the cogency of the fears . I would ad and the democratization of hope …or concrete utopia 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
19 Utopia and biopoliticsThe study of utopia, either as a political or social project encounters a problem: radical hope of utopia -militant pessimism of dystopia Those two tendencies are present in bioethics discourse but offer no epistemology of rational consensus. Neither are innocent forms of biopolitics. The consequences for genetics of enhancement is that hope is insufficient to convince regulating bodies of the pertinence of the rationality of enhancement . - 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
20 Subjectivities and emancipation- conflicting view of emancipation -false perception of what is natural associated with a fixist view of our genome Or with a radical view of evolution as not being a natural promise but a human responsibility to improve his condition. It leads to conflicting view of the limits of enhancement as a way to do good to one self, or to one’s species across generations , which is a very different issue. 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
21 From ideal to nightmare and backThe dream of the ideal place became the nightmare of an undesired reality (Orwell in 1949, Huxley Brave new world (1932)) -Eutopia of Plato and Thomas Moore desire to build a better society and defining good in a universal way… against capitalism or scientificism for Huxley. What’ is new about genome editing and Crispr 9? Is the realization of dreams the problem or the solution? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
22 Reasonable notion of enhancement :a duty ? ( J. Harris)Attention must be drawn to the philosophical question that opposes the dynamic and plasticity of any living organism to the inadequacy of a human nature founded on mere biological determinism. It is nonetheless important to raise awareness about the distinction between care and treatment of human diseases, and a utopian notion of biological enhancement, that could become a dystopia if it is not regulated since the technic is cheap and will be easily available. 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi
23 Some Remaining ethical issues before we become posthumans…Can we argue with liberal eugenists that it is a duty to enhance evolution ? If I am against the precautionary principle a priori I would defend a measure of precaution and argue for a non perfectionist enhancement that would maintain plural choice for future generations? The thought experiment liberates us from doxa , but is it rational here and now? My main interrogation is about the link between what is called synthetic biology and big data that tend to reduce our capacity of choice to nothing by enhancing our disembodiement . Our bodies are also the tools of our emancipation and agency so… What is the main difference you make between post humanism and transhumanism that you refuse ? It it mainly a question of adequate reasoning dear John? 29 sep 2016 Prof Mylène Botbol-Baum, Helesi