Is Art Caplan One of the Smartest People on the Planet?
Discovering Minds Want to Know...
Check out this update from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics noting that Arthur Caplan has been recognized by Discover Magazine. The article is below.
Arthur Caplan, PhD, director of the Center for Bioethics, was named to Discover Magazine's "Smartest People on the Planet" list, which includes picks "from genius kids and rising stars to unsung heroes and self-styled outsiders." Caplan was named among the list's ten most "Influentials," alongside Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former NIH Director Harold Varmus and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
ARTHUR CAPLAN BIOETHICIST UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
NAVIGATING THE MINEFIELD OF BIOETHICS
Remember when in vitro fertilization, which has produced millions of babies, was controversial? Today's medical breakthroughs, from genetically engineering animals to rewiring the human brain, pose moral and social dilemmas every bit as divisive, providing grist for Arthur Caplan as he weighs in on the future of science.
Caplan has sorted through the ethical traps of science for the United Nations, the National Institutes of Health, the president of the United States, and the Olympics and has written or edited more than 30 books and 500 articles on ethics in biomedicine. He has guided us through such issues as the organ donor market (he opposed the sale of
kidneys to the highest bidder), the Terri Schiavo case (he opposed government intervention to keep her alive), and the stem cell wars (he supports embryonic stem cell research). Although he sometimes loses battles against politicians, he often succeeds in swaying public opinion, which in the end may be his proudest achievement.
Caplan has played a singular role in "democratizing bioethics," says James Hughes, executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. "His tireless work translating philosophical debates into understandable ideas, along with his being accessible to the media, has helped millions of people around the world develop more
informed opinions about health care and biotechnology. As a champion of accountable government regulation, universal health care, and individual liberty, he has applied the values of the Enlightenment to the 21st century.
Summer Johnson, PhD
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Thank you for the honesty! I strongly believe that the philosophy of Wittgenstein and Heidegger belongs in the modern medical industry. With humor!
- by Joel on Nov 22, 2008 at 4:28 AM | link
“Forms of assisted reproduction that produce leftover embryos, including in-vitro fertilization, are denounced. Prenatal genetic diagnosis, in which embryos are scanned for defects before being implanted, is similarly unacceptable. These prohibitions, said Caplan, are the least-logical arguments in Dignitas Personae: Natural reproduction already involves embryo loss”
Whoa. This “bioethicist” Caplan is saying “Some embryos die naturally, therefore it’s OK to deliberately kill other embryos.” Hey “Professor”, EVERY old person dies naturally if something or someone hasn’t killed him before. Does that mean it’s OK for us to kill you when you get old, regardless of what you may wish?
“and many sterile Catholic couples use assisted reproduction to conceive.”
And that apparently makes the Church’s prohibition of it “illogical”. Probably most sins are committed by most Catholics in their lifetimes. Apparently the Prof thinks that to be logical the Church should say that all these sins are now OK. You don’t know the first thing about Catholicism if you think that whether something is a sin is decided by whether it is common among Catholics.
“Dignitas Personae also strikes a compromise with gene therapy, which is approved for treating diseases, though not for non-therapeutic uses, such as making people smarter or stronger. Even permanent genetic modifications that can be passed to children are acceptable, as long as it's safe. "That was the most surprising thing in the document," said Caplan. "That commitment to healing is noble."”
Wow, Caplan clearly knows nothing about the Church and its history. I'd say he's a candidate for one of the most influential Dumbest People on the Planet.
- by Ronk on Dec 14, 2008 at 9:31 PM | link