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Climate Change and Human Engineering

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Handbook of the Philosophy of Climate Change

Part of the book series: Handbooks in Philosophy ((HP))

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Abstract

Recently, several scholars have argued that governments worldwide should seriously consider using direct human engineering to curb global climate change. Prominent proposals include (1) cognitive enhancement, (2) moral bioenhancement, (3) preference modification, and (4) physiological modification. These direct human engineering programs could alleviate global climate change by reducing the consumption of resources, improving the understanding of the danger of climate change, and increasing moral motivations to adopt eco-friendly behaviors. Yet, each of these proposals raises several ethical concerns. This chapter provides a review of the rationale behind human engineering and the current state of the literature on human engineering and climate change, concluding that at the moment human engineering raises more problems than it solves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Pei-hua Huang

Authors
  1. Pei-hua Huang
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Correspondence to Pei-hua Huang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Luiss University, Roma, Italy

    Gianfranco Pellegrino

  2. Department of Humanities, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Marcello Di Paola

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Political Science, Guido Carli Free International University, ROMA, Roma, Italy

    Gianfranco Pellegrino

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Huang, Ph. (2023). Climate Change and Human Engineering. In: Pellegrino, G., Di Paola, M. (eds) Handbook of the Philosophy of Climate Change. Handbooks in Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07002-0_79

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