Evolutionary, Biological Origins of Morality: Implications for Research with Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Abstract

Medical research with human embryonic stem cells, despite its enormous potential to reduce human suffering, is banned in many countries and heavily restricted in others. "Moral reasons" are invoked to justify bans and restrictions on this promising research. Rather surprisingly, while those moral reasons have been extensively discussed and hotly debated in several papers, not a single article on the moral aspects of that research has attempted to answer this fundamental question: What is morality? Considering that a scientifically objective definition of morality is essential to determine whether those moral reasons are justified or groundless, this article focuses on the evolutionary origins of morality and its biological basis. Morality arose as a selectively advantageous product of evolution and preceded all religions and philosophies by millions of years. For the 99% of humankind's evolution, morality was axiomatically aimed at reducing the sufferings of the social members, because pains and afflictions, as expressions of diseases and impairments, tended to hasten the extinction of the small ancestral groups, which characteristically consisted of a few tens of members. Had the therapeutic use of human embryos been available in remote times, our ancestors would have deemed it unquestionably immoral to save amorphous and microscopic agglomerates of insensitive cells representing neither parental nor social investment, at the expense of the lives of the suffering members of their little communities. Unless we venture the untenable thesis that the unlikelihood of extinction of our immense societies entitles us to overturn the meaning of morality, we cannot but conclude that bans and restrictions on research with human embryonic stem cells are patently immoral.

Current knowledge in moral cognition can improve medical ethics

“…According to many authors, morality arose millions of years ago as an evolutionarily advantageous biological phenomenon aimed at ensuring the survival of our ancestors, who lived in small groups at high risk of extinction 4. New findings in evolutionary biology give other reasons why individuals care about the welfare of others: kin selection (by helping relatives, people increase the chance that their own genes will pass on to the next generation) and reciprocal altruism (helping a non-relative, so the recipient will return the favour) 5 6.…”

Derivation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

“…The ability of hESCs to maintain an undifferentiated state indefinitely in culture and to differentiate into all cell types and tissues within the human body has created a high demand for research. Although the cells are of great scientific interest, progression of this type of research has been met with great controversy and resistance due to the ethical concern of destroying early human embryos for derivation of hESC lines (Knowles, 2004;Baschetti, 2005;Gruen and Grabel, 2006). Nevertheless, once the ethical concerns are abated through placement of the appropriate guidelines and policies on research, the hESC field will not only evolve, but will continue to rapidly progress toward monumental medical and scientific breakthroughs.…”