Theme

Making perfect lives

How much of our lives do we want to open up to biotechnological and medical improvements? As a society, do we understand the consequences and risks of these new technologies? And how do new technologies change our perception of a good and healthy lifestyle and the limits of life itself?

Questions about life and death are not purely individual matters for humans – after all, we are social beings. Nevertheless, autonomy over our bodies and self-determination are among society’s great assets. That explains the tendency in political debate and in the media to focus on the tension between individual needs and collective values, and also why there is so much emphasis on the different ways that groups in society judge what is good. Every new technology has its own specific features, but all new technologies raise the same questions, again and again.