Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

In this work I present a detailed critique of the dignity-related arguments that have been advanced against the creation of human-nonhuman chimeras that could possess human-like mental capacities. My main claim is that the arguments so far advanced are incapable of grounding a principled objection against the creation of such creatures. I conclude that these arguments have one, or more, of the following problems: (a) they confuse the ethical assessment of the creation of chimeras with the ethical assessment of how such creatures would be treated in specific contexts (e.g. in the laboratory), (b) they misrepresent how a being could be treated solely as means towards others' ends,

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s11019-015-9644-7

Type

Journal article

Journal

Med Health Care Philos

Publication Date

11/2015

Volume

18

Pages

487 - 499

Keywords

Chimeras, Dignity, Human dignity, Human–nonhuman chimeras, Nonhuman animals, Part-human, Animals, Biotechnology, Chimera, Dehumanization, Ethics, Research, Gametogenesis, Genetic Engineering, Genetic Research, Human Rights, Humans, Stem Cell Research