At the Pop!tech conference, I had a chance to ask Gregory Stock his opinion of Leon Kass, who heads the President's commission on bio-ethics. Stock views Kass as a worthy intellectual adversary, who debates biotechnology at a higher level than other conservative critics. Here is a sample quote from Kass's report:

The chapter on better children raised questions about the meaning and limits of parental control and about the character and rearing of children. The chapter on superior performance raised questions about the meaning of excellence and the “humanity” of human activity. The chapter on ageless bodies raised questions about the significance of the “natural” life cycle and lifespan, and their connection to the dynamic character of society and the prospects for its invigorating renewal. And the chapter on happy souls raised questions about the connection between experienced mood or self-esteem and the deeds or experiences that ordinarily are their foundation, as well as the connections between remembering truly and personal identity.

Still, I get the feeling from the latest paper of the commission that Kass approaches the issue the way that my high school students did when I presented it in class last year. They kept wanting to draw a line between "therapy" and "enhancement," even though it is hard to define the line at any point in time, and the line keeps moving every year.

Thanks to Suzanne Fields for the pointer.

UPDATE: By all means, visit brother Zack on this issue. And brother Derek and brother Richard, too.

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