When Science Outpaces Ethics
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Question of the Week
What do you watch or read or see portrayed in the media that is most at odds with your own observations and personal experiences, whether at home, at work, in your dating or family life, or in any other area where your reality and portrayals by others seem incongruous?
Send your responses to conor@theatlantic.com.
Conversations of Note
What happens when science advances in ways so hard to comprehend that our society’s ethical norms––and the ethical intuitions of many people––aren’t sophisticated enough to encompass them?
The question is brought to mind by a news item in The Guardian about a recent breakthrough in reproductive science:
Scientists have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells, in a groundbreaking advance that sidesteps the need for eggs or sperm. Scientists say these model embryos, which resemble those in the earliest stages of human development, could provide a crucial window on the impact of genetic disorders and the biological causes of recurrent miscarriage. However, the work also raises serious ethical and legal issues
