The future of gene editing in humans will involve the use of CRISPR. How
we think about the combination of the scientific, ethical, and moral
aspects of this technology is paramount to the success or failure of
CRISPR in humans. Unfortunately, the current scientific discussion
around CRISPR in humans has left ethics trailing behind due to the rapid
pace of innovation. New modes of ethics and stakeholder participation
are needed to keep pace with rapid scientific advances and provide the
necessary policy and ethical frameworks necessary to help CRISPR
flourish as an important health care tool to treat human disease. This
requires intense interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion between
scientists and philosophers, policymakers and legal scholars, and the
public.
Dr. Michael W. Nestor (a neuroscientist who actively uses CRISPR in
pre-clinical research) and Professor Richard Wilson (a philosopher who
focuses on anticipatory ethics) set out to develop a new ethical
approach considering the use of CRISPR in human targeted therapies. The
field of anticipatory ethics is uniquely poised to tackle questions in
fast-evolving technical areas where the pace of innovation outstrips
traditional philosophical approaches. Furthermore, because of its
"anticipatory" nature, this type of analysis provides the opportunity to
look ahead and into the future concerning potential uses of CRISPR in
humans, uses that are not currently possible.
Nestor and Wilson collaborate both scientifically and philosophically in
this book to forecast potential outcomes as the scientific and medical
community goes beyond using CRISPR to correct genes that underlie
diseases where a single gene is involved. Instead, Nestor and Wilson
envision CRISPR in complex, multigenic disorders with a specific focus
on the use of CRISPR to edit genes involved in mental traits like IQ or
other cognitive characteristics. They argue that the use of CRISPR to
modify genes that are potentially important for mental traits represents
a particular category for special consideration from scientists,
policymakers, the public, and other stakeholders.
Nestor and Wilson explain why using CRISPR to alter mental states is
very different from treating a disease like cancer by combining the
latest scientific advancements with anticipatory ethics and
philosophical phenomenology. Their analysis considers the role that
mental states play in personhood and the lived experience-as genes that
can change mental/cognitive attributes like IQ have wide-ranging effects
on the lived experience in ways that are categorically different from
other attributes.
This book was written to set a non-exhaustive framework for shared
understanding and discussion across disciplines and appeal to scientists
and non-scientists alike. This appeal is made inclusively, inviting all
stakeholders to engage in active dialogue about the appropriate context
for using CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies in humans. It
provides policy analysis and recommendations for assuring the most
inclusive, equitable, and ethically sound use of CRISPR in humans,
concerning its positive potential to treat mental conditions like
depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, and the
potential to induce other cognitive enhancements.
