Petr Jošt
University of Hradec Králové, Philosophical Faculty, Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences
The project of biomedical moral enhancement seeks to use procedures such as brain implants or human genome editing in order to overcome the evolutionary mismatch between our outdated morality and the challenges of the modern world. These challenges range from eliminating the bystander effect and reducing social inequalities to improving global cooperation in addressing issues such as the climate crisis. From the outset, much attention has been paid to the possibility of enhancing empathy, which is often credited with various positive qualities. It appears to be crucial for moral reasoning and behaviour, helping us better understand the emotions of others and facilitating cooperation between individuals. However, relying on the concept comes at a cost. In my presentation, I will focus on the imprecise definition of empathy, which leads philosophers and other researchers to study fundamentally different phenomena under the same label, a problem that seriously threatens its viability as a foundation for biomedical moral enhancement. I will begin by presenting definitions of empathy in the context of moral enhancement, where philosophers typically rely on their own intuitive or merely implicit definitions or make no attempt to specify the term at all. Subsequently, I will point out that this issue extends beyond philosophy, as psychologists and neuroscientists also struggle to define empathy in a clear and consistent manner. Following this, I will proceed to argue that these difficulties are partly due to empathy’s origins in folk psychology, which, in turn, exacerbates problems such as miscommunication among researchers, the impossibility of unified and accurate measurements, and the challenge of mapping specific mental constructs onto neural structures. I will conclude my talk by introducing a spectrum of possible solutions, ranging from ambitious long-term approaches to more pragmatic, if imperfect, alternatives that can be applied in practice.
Chair: Leonard Parr
Time: 04 September, 11:20 – 11:50
Location: SR 1.004
SOPhiA 2026 