Biomedical anthropology (3)

Argument

This sequence of five lessons is the conclusion of a series of lessons given at the Collège de France in 2003-4 and 2004-5 on the same theme. The problem posed is that of the impact of bio-medical advances on our conception of humanity : in two centuries of development in biology and medicine, is " l'homme des Lumières " or " homme moderne " still relevant ?

1. The project of a philosophical anthropology, as old as philosophy itself (" know thyself "), was redrawn in the ^19th century with the birth of the human and social sciences, on the frontier between the natural sciences and the sciences of the mind. What becomes of our image of man, when confronted with the achievements of the life sciences ? Should we give up trying to define the essence of man, and instead reflect on his future ?
2. Second half of the ^19th century. Population biology (Lamarck's transformism, then Darwin's evolutionism) places the human species in the continuity of the series of living beings, and at the same time reveals the magnificence and cruelty of the struggle for life : doubts are cast on civilization's ability to bend (moralize) the harsh law of natural selection (or metaphysical evil). Should we follow nature, or fight against it ?
3. First half of the ^20th century. Organismal biology, by adopting rigorous methods of investigation, introduces a style of research (objectivizing, naturalizing, unconcerned with pathos) that seems incompatible with traditional humanism, in medicine as in animal physiology. In continental Europe, the great movement calling itself " philosophical anthropology " aimed to reconcile science and humanism.
4. Second half of the ^20th century. With the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, followed by the deciphering of the genetic code, genetic engineering takes off. Biotechnology gave rise to synthetic biology, in the wake of synthetic chemistry. Transgenic mice and cloned calves were created. Medicine, from transplants to cellular therapies, claims to be " regenerative ". Some of the possibilities are frightening, with fears of " crimes against the human species " (moral evil). What about the human being, exposed to the action of biotechnologies ?
5. Kant said that we have always complained that the world is going badly, and that to believe the contrary, i.e. to think that we are going from bad to better, is a " heroic opinion ". Darwin, in the evening of his life, judged that, all things considered, and despite the harshness of selection, the living world contains more happiness than suffering. In this lesson, we examine the anthropological projections of a number of contemporary philosophers who have reflected on the contribution of life sciences : responsibility, dignity, compassion, open individualism, collective individuation...