TY - JOUR
T1 - Ecological engineering
T2 - Reshaping our environments to achieve our goals
AU - Levy, Neil
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2012. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - Human beings are subject to a range of cognitive and affective limitations which interfere with our ability to pursue our individual and social goals. I argue that shaping our environment to avoid triggering these limitations or to constrain the harms they cause is likely to be more effective than genetic or pharmaceutical modifications of our capacities because our limitations are often the flip side of beneficial dispositions and because available enhancements seem to impose significant costs. I argue that carefully selected environmental interventions respect agents' autonomy and are consistent with democratic decision making.
AB - Human beings are subject to a range of cognitive and affective limitations which interfere with our ability to pursue our individual and social goals. I argue that shaping our environment to avoid triggering these limitations or to constrain the harms they cause is likely to be more effective than genetic or pharmaceutical modifications of our capacities because our limitations are often the flip side of beneficial dispositions and because available enhancements seem to impose significant costs. I argue that carefully selected environmental interventions respect agents' autonomy and are consistent with democratic decision making.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871640801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13347-012-0065-8
DO - 10.1007/s13347-012-0065-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 23396750
AN - SCOPUS:84871640801
SN - 2210-5433
VL - 25
SP - 589
EP - 604
JO - Philosophy and Technology
JF - Philosophy and Technology
IS - 4
ER -