TED Talks l http www ted comtalksbarryschwartz onourlossofwisdom

TED Talks l http: //www. ted. com/talks/barry_schwartz_ on_our_loss_of_wisdom. html l http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=vs 41 Jrn Gaxc

Saying goodbye. . .

The Battleground? Clones l Designer babies l Spare parts babies l Deaf babies for deaf parents l

Natural Selection l Carl Sagan l http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 RL U 4 -ky. Sow&feature=related

Unnatural Selection? l Who decides the future of the human race?

Deaf child? A moral choice?

Ethics and embryology – should deaf parents be allowed to choose a deaf child? l So, riddle me this: a deaf couple want a second child, and because of the woman’s age they’ll probably need to use invitro fertilisation techniques. No problem so far … until you find that the parents want to be able to select for a deaf child, and the UK government’s recent embryology bill will not allow them to do so. l This is a textbook ethical dilemma, but it’s the sort of thing that advances in reproductive technology and genetic engineering are going to make more commonplace.

Jean-Paul Sartre Freedom and morality… l l l We are condemned to be free. Existence precedes essence. There is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we think he ought to be. To choose to be this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose.

Is there moral progress?

James Rachels (1941 -2003)

l Thanks for listening… l Hope you enjoyed. . . l See you on the 12 th. . .

l oh. . . and thanks for all the fish. . .