Biohappiness, or bio-happiness, is the elevation of wellbeing in humans through biological methods, including
germline engineering through screening embryos with genes associated with a high level of happiness, or the use of drugs intended to raise baseline levels of happiness. The object is to facilitate the achievement of a state of "better than well."
Proponents of biohappiness include the
transhumanist
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition.
Transhuma ...
philosopher
David Pearce, whose goal is to end the suffering of all
sentient
Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...
beings and the Canadian ethicist
Mark Alan Walker. Walker has sought to defend biohappiness on the grounds that happiness ought to be of interest to a wide range of moral theorists; and that
hyperthymia
Hyperthymic temperament, or hyperthymia, from Ancient Greek ''ὑπέρ'' ("over", meaning here ''excessive'') + '' θυμός'' ("spirited"), is a proposed personality type characterized by an exceptionally, or in some cases, abnormally positive ...
, a state of high baseline happiness, is associated with better outcomes in health and human achievement.
The concept of biohappiness also has its high-profile critics, including
Leon Kass
Leon Richard Kass (born February 12, 1939) is an American physician, scientist, educator, and public intellectual. Kass is best known as a proponent of liberal arts education via the "Great Books," as a critic of human cloning, life extension, eut ...
, who served on the
President's Council on Bioethics
The President's Council on Bioethics (PCBE) was a group of individuals appointed by United States President George W. Bush to advise his administration on bioethics. Established on November 28, 2001, by Executive Order 13237, the council was dire ...
during the presidency of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.
See also
*
Eradication of suffering
The eradication or abolition of suffering is the concept of using biotechnology to create a permanent absence of involuntary pain and suffering in all sentient beings.
Biology and medicine
The discovery of modern anesthesia in the 19th centur ...
*
Perfectionism (philosophy)
In ethics and value theory, perfectionism is the persistence of will in obtaining the optimal quality of spiritual, mental, physical, and material being. The neo-Aristotelean Thomas Hurka describes perfectionism as follows:
This moral theory s ...
References
External links
The Biohappiness Revolution(video)
(The President's Council on Bioethics, Washington, D.C., October 2003).
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Bioethics
Biotechnology
Hedonism
Neuropharmacology
Transhumanism
Utilitarianism