Heloise Robinson proclaims a name for papers for a particular challenge of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry on the function of the historical past of eugenics inside modern debates over human enhancement.
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On the 24th of March 2025, a convention was held on the College of Oxford, on the next subject: “Historical past, Eugenics, and Human Enhancement: How the Previous Can Inform Moral Debates within the Current”. The convention was supported by TORCH Medical Humanities, the Uehiro Oxford Institute, and the Stanford Boundaries of Humanities Challenge. It was convened by Andrew Moeller (affiliate member of the School of Historical past, College of Oxford), Jose Maria Andres Porras (Assistant Professor on the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and affiliate member of the School of Historical past, College of Oxford), and Alberto Giubilini (Senior Analysis Fellow, Uehiro Oxford Institute). This convention targeted on human enhancement up to now and within the current day, and addressed questions that surrounded, for instance, the relevance of the function of historians, philosophers or different students in ethical debates on enhancement, and on the relevance of sure subjects and time durations to debates on enhancement proposals. The convention included full of life and essential discussions, and contributions from students in a spread of fields.
Following on from this convention, the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry shall be publishing a symposium challenge, on the next subject: “The Function of the Historical past of Eugenics inside Up to date Moral Debates over Human Enhancement”. This challenge is being edited by two of the convention convenors (Andrew Moeller and Jose Maria Andres Porras), in addition to on my own. Though the concept for the particular challenge originates from the above-mentioned convention, contributions are welcome from anybody within the subject, and don’t require any affiliation with the convention itself. Submissions are invited from quite a lot of tutorial disciplines, together with bioethics, incapacity research, philosophy, historical past, legislation, social and political sciences, psychology, and anthropology. As convenors we’re particularly enthusiastic about encouraging collaboration and co-authoring between students from totally different disciplines, or with totally different or opposing viewpoints.
An essential goal of this symposium challenge shall be to incorporate contributions which study how the historical past of eugenics informs present debates (together with moral, authorized and social debates) on human enhancement applied sciences, and which embody genetic testing applied sciences, prenatal screening, and genome enhancing. As talked about within the submission pointers, we have an interest for instance in contributions which might deal with the next subjects:
- How can the historical past of eugenics outdoors of North America and Europe, or outdoors of the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries, inform modern debates over human enhancement and/or using time period “eugenics”?
- What shared visions of dwelling nicely or the “good life,” and corresponding metaphysical beliefs, undergird historic and modern assist for practices geared toward enhancement? How are these visions to be assessed?
- What entrenched positions in regard to the historical past of eugenics / makes use of of that historical past name for re-evaluation?
- What does it imply to “reckon” with the legacies of eugenics? Have latest “reckonings” been profitable?
- Whereby do we discover eugenic thought, rhetoric, and follow persisting into the current day? And to what extent does this modern-day eugenic thought and follow construct upon previous thought and follow? How would possibly the previous serve to meaningfully critique this current?
- What methodological approaches to the historical past of eugenics might serve to problem or keep away from simplistic or reductive readings of that historical past, in addition to doable affirmation or choice bias within the studying of historical past?
- How would possibly the historical past of eugenics meaningfully inform efforts geared toward human enhancement that don’t usually contain the choice for inborn traits?
The particular challenge ought to give contributors an essential alternative to assist form the discourse on moral deliberations pertaining to eugenics, together with in relation to any relevance of those deliberations to modern-day practices that permit for some management over inborn traits. Whereas the historical past of eugenics has already obtained vital consideration within the literature, there may be however room to contemplate sure questions additional, together with these which relate to the potential relevance of this historical past to modern debates and practices. On condition that the journal challenge shall be encouraging an interdisciplinary strategy, it additionally gives contributors a possibility to participate in shaping debates throughout a variety of totally different disciplines.
As convenors we look ahead to placing collectively what we hope shall be a vital contribution to present debates on human enhancement and eugenics.
The deadline for submissions is the 1st of September 2026, and additional details about submission will be discovered right here.
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Heloise Robinson is a Lecturer in Regulation at St Hugh’s Faculty, College of Oxford.
