A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

What is Bioconservatism? Arendt, Habermas, and Fukuyama




AuthorsSuuronen, Ville

PublisherInforma UK Limited

Publication year2024

JournalEuropean Legacy

Journal name in sourceThe European Legacy

First page 1-23

ISSN1084-8770

eISSN1470-1316

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2024.2403916

Web address http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2024.2403916

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/458282680


Abstract

In light of the new developments in biotechnologies in recent years and their potentialities for human enhancement, the traditional division between conservative and progressive thinking has acquired new nuances. This article offers a historical examination of bioconservatism—the specific kind of conservatism that has developed in response to these technologies, the aim of which is to resist their potential future adverse effects. I differentiate between two types of bioconservatism: the one based on a defense of the anthropological openness of human beings and the conditions that make ethical existence possible (Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas), and the other based on a more traditionally conservative defense of human nature (Francis Fukuyama). By proposing a more concise definition of bioconservatism, this article deepens our understanding of the new conservative responses to the accelerating rate of biotechnological developments and the rise of the intellectual movements of transhumanism and posthumanism.


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Last updated on 2025-27-01 at 19:35