Eradication of suffering

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The eradication or abolition of suffering is the concept of using

sentient beings
.

Biology and medicine

The discovery of modern anesthesia in the 19th century was an early breakthrough in the elimination of pain during surgery, but acceptance was not universal. Some medical practitioners at the time believed that anesthesia was an artificial and harmful intervention in the body's natural response to injury.[1] Opposition to anesthesia has since dissipated; however, the prospect of eradicating pain raises similar concerns about interfering with life's natural functions.[2]

People who are naturally incapable of feeling pain or unpleasant sensations due to rare conditions like

FAAH pseudogene (dubbed FAAH-OUT) with resultant elevated anandamide levels was reported in 2019 to be immune to anxiety, unable to experience fear, and insensitive to pain. The frequent burns and cuts she had due to her full hypoalgesia healed quicker than average.[4][5][6]

In 1990, Medical Hypotheses published an article by L. S. Mancini on the "genetic engineering of a world without pain":[7]

A hypothesis is presented to the effect that everything adaptive which is achievable with a mind capable of experiencing varying degrees of both pleasure and pain (the human condition as we know it) could be achieved with a mind capable of experiencing only varying degrees of pleasure.

The development of gene editing techniques like CRISPR has raised the prospect that "scientists can identify the causes of certain unusual people's physical superpowers and use gene editing to grant them to others."[8] Geneticist George Church has commented on the potential future of replacing pain with a painless sensory system:[9]

I imagine what this would be like on another planet and in the future, and... given that imagined future, whether we would be willing to come back to where we are now. Rather than saying whether we're willing to go forward... ask whether you're willing to come back.

Ethics and philosophy

Ethicists and philosophers in the schools of hedonism and utilitarianism, especially negative utilitarianism, have debated the merits of eradicating suffering.[10] Transhumanist philosopher David Pearce, in The Hedonistic Imperative (1995), argues that the abolition of suffering is both technically feasible and an issue of moral urgency,[11] stating that: "It is predicted that the world's last unpleasant experience will be a precisely dateable event."[12]

The philosopher Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of Humanity Institute, advises a more cautious approach due to pain's function in protecting individuals from harm. However, Bostrom supports the core idea of using biotechnology to get rid of "a huge amount of unnecessary and undeserved suffering."[10] It has also been argued that the eradication of suffering through biotechnology may bring about unwanted consequences, and arguments have been made that transhumanism is not the only philosophy worthy of consideration regarding the question of suffering — many people view suffering as one aspect in a dualist understanding of psychological and physical functioning, without which pleasure could not exist.[13]

Animal welfare

In 2009, Adam Shriver suggested replacing animals in factory farming with genetically engineered animals with a reduced or absent capacity to suffer and feel pain.[14] Shriver and McConnachie argued that people who wish to improve animal welfare should support gene editing in addition to plant-based diets and cultured meat.[15]

Katrien Devolder and Matthias Eggel proposed gene editing research animals to remove pain and suffering. This would be an intermediate step towards eventually stopping all experimentation on animals and adopting alternatives.[16]

Concerning wild-animal suffering, CRISPR-based gene drives have been suggested as a cost-effective way of spreading benign alleles in sexually reproducing species.[17][18][19] To limit gene drives spreading indefinitely (for test programmes, for example), the Sculpting Evolution group at the MIT Media Lab developed a self-exhausting form of CRISPR-based gene drive called a "daisy-chain drive."[20][21] For potential adverse effects of a gene drive, "[s]everal genetic mechanisms for limiting or eliminating gene drives have been proposed and/or developed, including synthetic resistance, reversal drives, and immunizing reversal drives."[22]

See also

References

  1. PMID 26828088
    .
  2. ^ Hildebrandt, Eleanor (2020-05-19). "Scientists may soon be able to turn off pain with gene editing: should they?". leapsmag. Leaps by Bayer.
  3. ^ Shaer, Matthew (May 2019). "The Family That Feels Almost No Pain". Smithsonian Magazine.
  4. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  5. .
  6. ^ Sample, Ian (2019-03-28). "Scientists find genetic mutation that makes woman feel no pain". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  7. PMID 2189064
    .
  8. ^ Regalado, Antonio (2019-08-22). "The next trick for CRISPR is gene-editing pain away". MIT Technology Review.
  9. ^ Church, George; Perry, Lucas (2020-05-15). "FLI Podcast: On the Future of Computation, Synthetic Biology, and Life with George Church". Future of Life Institute.
  10. ^ a b Power, Katherine (July–August 2006). "The End of Suffering". Philosophy Now (56).
  11. ^ Dvorsky, George (2012-09-27). "Should we eliminate the human ability to feel pain?". Gizmodo.
  12. ^ Pearce, David (1995). "The Hedonistic Imperative". HEDWEB.
  13. ^ Renstrom, Joelle (2018). "It's the End of the World as We Know It and We Feel Fantastic: Examining the End of Suffering". NANO: New American Notes Online. 13. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  14. S2CID 10504334
    .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. .
  18. ^ Pearce, David (2016–2020). "Compassionate Biology: How CRISPR-based 'gene drives' could cheaply, rapidly and sustainably reduce suffering throughout the living world". Hedweb. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  19. ^ Esvelt, Kevin (2019-08-30). "When Are We Obligated To Edit Wild Creatures?". leapsmag. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  20. PMID 30940750
    .
  21. ^ Esvelt, Kevin. "Daisy Drive Systems". Sculpting Evolution Group. MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  22. PMID 28887462
    .

Further reading