open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/jaep.14.1

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/88783

Some Perspectives on Moral Status of Human Brain Organoids : With Focus on Consciousness and the “We” as Humans

英語

speciesism

2023-02

Center for Applied Ethics and Philosophy, Hokkaido University

Journal of Applied Ethics and Philosophy

14

1-13

Human brain organoids are three-dimensional structures that reproduce the structure and function of the human brain in vitro . In this paper, I focus on the question of the moral status future human brain organoids will occupy. It is generally believed that the moral status a being occupies depend on sentience it possesses. However, in this paper, I argue that the presence or absence of a “consciousness” other than sentience may also have moral importance in the light of the features that seem to be unique to human brain organoids, and assert that a new perspective on whether human brain organoids belong to “we” or not may be necessary for thinking abstractly about how they should be treated morally. I argue that even if future human brain organoids lack sentience, they can occupy a moral status when they have so-called phenomenal or access consciousness. On the other hand, I argue that as long as future human brain organoids are as much a part of the “we” in terms of family membership as patients in a persistent vegetative state are. This would imply that even if human brain organoids do not have any kinds of consciousnesses, they may occupy some moral status.

紀要論文

Version of Record

1883-0129

1884-0590