Do human–animal neural chimeras get moral status?
A chimera mixes cells of different embryonic origins. The authors posit degrees of moral status from awareness, autonomy, and sociability, so lesser capacities yield partial status rather than zero or full human status.
Source
A framework for the ethical assessment of chimeric animal research involving human neural tissue
What they did
They define chimera, note Parkinson’s-style disease models that drive neural chimeras, discuss technical/ethical limits of modelling neurological disease, then argue that beings with enough of the same status-conferring properties have full status, while lesser degrees have partial status proportional to those capacities.
What they found
No being automatically has full status without the properties. Partial moral status admits of degrees. Neural chimeras sit on that gradient, which is the assessment framework.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is a status framework, not a new chimera experiment. It does not license or ban a specific protocol.
Key terms
- Chimera
- A single organism made up of cells of different embryonic origins.
- Human neural tissue
- The ethically hottest chimeric material, used to model neurological disease.
- Full moral status
- Status of beings who possess enough of the awareness/autonomy/sociability cluster.
- Partial moral status
- Degrees of status proportional to lesser possession of those capacities.
Flashcards
Research intelligence for this paper
See its role on concept claims, tensions it is part of, placement history, and related discoveries.
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A chimera is?
Common questions
What is a chimera?
One organism from cells of different embryonic origins.
Status properties?
Awareness, autonomy, and sociability among those they discuss.
Lesser capacities?
Partial moral status, in degrees.
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