Question

Situation:

For the first time, a scientist has successfully cloned a human being. Although the clone shares the exact DNA with the original human being, the cerebral cortex in the brain of the clone is shut down from birth, meaning that the clone will be born into a persistent vegetative state and remains so for the rest of their lifespan. The scientist plans to utilize this technology to produce a backup copy of his paying customers who want to have a set of backup organs in case they may need an organ transplant in the future. Since the clone grows like a normal human being, it will take roughly 15 years for the clone to mature in order to transplant their organs into the original person. The scientist plans to charge US$10 million for each clone including the subsequent maintenance, but he believes the price will go down dramatically in the future as the technology matures.

Do you think what the scientist does is ethical? Explain your answer with any two of the following ethical theories: egoism / utilitarianism / Kantian ethics / natural law theory / natural rights theory.

Answer 1

I think what the scientist has done is unethical. In principal, I am against cloning.

Kantian theory is based on the view that the only intrinsically good thing is a good will; an action can only be good if its maxim, the principle behind it, is duty to the moral law. Central to Kant's construction of the moral law is the concept of categorical imperative, which acts on all people, regardless of their interests or needs . Kant formulated this categorical imperative in various ways. His principle of universalizability states that, for an action to be permissible, it must be possible to apply it to all people without a contradiction taking place. In Kant's formulation of humanity, he states that as an end in itself humans are required never to treat others merely as a means to an end, but always, additionally, as ends in themselves.

Kant basically is saying that the principal behind the action is important. He has specifically said that humans never treat others as a means to an end. So basically, if the scientist is cloning then it should be for human benefit maybe to save lives. If the scientist is cloning for profit, then he is going against Kantian theory. So, basically cloning and selling each clone for 10 million USD is unethical according to Kantian ethics.

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that advocates those actions that promote overall happiness or pleasure and rejects those actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A utilitarian philosophy, when directed to making social, economic, or political decisions, aims generally for the betterment of society. "The greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people" is a maxim of utilitarianism theory

When we look at utilitarianism in this context, what the scientist is doing is not right. Even though he is making human organs through cloning, it is not for overall humanity or the betterment of society. He is selling the clones for personal profit and not interested in benefiting humanity. Hence, the scientist’s actions are not in keeping with utilitarianism ethics.