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The conservative position

In the borders of the scientist-oriented atheist world outlook which is taking a person to the totality of the biogenetic data, the appearance of the selection and eugenic projects is logically inevitable. N. Berdyaev characterizing this world outlook just named it “criterion of the humangodness”.

The dilemma of the “humangodness – God-manhood” was permanently in the focus of attention of the religious philosophy. This process “gave a freedom for the creative development to the natural human moving away from the inner sense of life, from the deepest principles of the human nature in itself”. For the philosophy of God-manhood the highest ideal measure is exceptionally a human himself and everything “human”. But can “human” and only “human” perform the function of the absolute, the criterion or the highest idea?

The reality of the modern scientist forms of the God-manhood gives a birth to a steady social demand for juridical and ethical regulations of the gene technologies. The documents of the worldwide medical association “Declaration about genetic consulting and gene engineering” (1987) and “Declaration about the project “Human genome”” (1992) – this is the answer for this question.

In “Declaration about the project “Human genome”” is recording the following: “Certain concern appears because of the apprehension that the researcher who is busy with the work about the project, can take a role of a unique “God” or try to interfere in the actions of the nature’s laws. Only exempting from preconception in relation to the project “Human genome”, we’ll be able properly assess the ethical problems which are correlated with its realization, as this has a place in cases with the assessment of the new methods of diagnostics and treatment. In other words, as in the last cases, the main criteria of the project’s assessment are respect of the human’s personality, his autonomy and the principle of non-interference into his private life, and also comparative assessment of risk and utility”.

There is a separate point in this Declaration “The threat of the usage of the genetic information for not medical purposes and threat of eugenics” and it is stated: “The conception of eugenics is based at the supposition about the fact that the genes have the decisive significance in the process of the human’s formation, and that’s why their distribution in the population has the decisive significance for the changing of the reproductive behavior. According to this conception, considerations of the common good are justifying the limitation of the individual’s freedom. Holding the information makes the problem and the problem of its usage. Heretofore there is apprehension concerning existence of agreed by government programs of “improvement of race” and the usage of the medical technologies with not medical aims”.

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