Gene Editing and Human Dignity

The revolution of gene technology and development of gene editing technology empower human beings to play the God’s role and become their own creator, with the ability to design life and recreate human beings, however, the revolution of gene technology has brought serous challenges to the ontological foundation of human dignity, which raises the most profound new ethical issues. Contemporary liberal Eugenist put forward that the human beings can be able to change and recreate human beings by “playing god”, but its ontological consequence is a paradoxical, when human beings gain the greatest freedom, at the same time, they destroy the foundation of the dignity of human beings, finally, they lost the freedom nature of life completely. According to Kant’s view, dignity is the highest ethical value of human beings, and dignity is not only derived from the “right” and “self-esteem” of individual autonomy, but also from the “responsibility” and “respect” of universal moral autonomy. The foundation of human beings’ dignity and sublime lie in the universal legislative ability of freedom nature of human beings. In addition, the post-metaphysical philosopher further developed Kant’s theory of dignity and put forward a new theory of dignity, based on recognition, interactivity and communicative community, in the dimension of otherness and publicity. In the face of the abuse of biotechnology and the challenge to human dignity, it is necessary to defend and reconstruct the foundation of human dignity. This paper will seek the foundation and normative power of dignity in the co-existence of human beings, and derive the responsibility to the “future man” from the open “we”.