DOSTOJANSTVO, AUTENTIČNOST I NOVE MEDICINSKE TEHNOLOGIJE: RONALD DVORKIN I BIOTEHNOLOŠKI IZAZOVI XXI VIJEKA
DIGNITY, AUTHENTICITY AND NEW MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES: RONALD DWORKIN AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES OF THE XXI CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: Rapid developments in biotechnology continually raise new ethical dilemmas. New medical technologies can be used not only for the prevention and treatment of serious diseases, but also for the selection and improvement of the characteristics of human beings. In this paper, some of the most controversial issues of biotechnological development were considered in the light of the Ronald Dworkin’s understanding of human dignity. Special attention was given to the principle of authenticity, as the second dimension of dignity that Dworkin analyzed in his book Justice for Hedgehogs. By failing to consider the protection of this value in the period before the child’s birth, Dworkin opened the way for interventions that could pose a serious threat to the authenticity of a future person’s life. The paper argued that the application of new medical technologies can be considered justifiable only if it allows the individual, as the author of his/her own life story, the necessary authorial freedom (originality) when creating his/ her own life narrative.

• Details
• Contents