Bioethics

Birkbeck is proud to present its fourth series of public lunchtime lectures, on the theme of Bioethics. The speakers represent different aspects of the debate around recent and future scientific advances. David Latchman, the current Master of the College, is a scientist of international repute, and previous head of a centre for biological research. Ian Gibson is another scientist, but also an MP, who for some years chaired the Commons select committee for science. Onora O’Neill is a philosopher and public intellectual whose work has engaged particularly with bioethical issues.

The lectures are designed to share with a wider public some of the extraordinary intellectual activity fostered at Birkbeck. The talks are free to all, on a first come first seated basis, and are held at lunchtime (1pm start) in room B33 of Birkbeck’s Malet Street site, in the heart of Bloomsbury.

In recent years, science has developed an ever deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms of human life, and the possibility of manipulating cells and genes in the service of medical care now lie before us. But profound ethical questions are raised by such possibilities. The use of stem cells, xenotransplantation, genetic screening, and cloning are among the most well-known issues. However, other matters are also of concern: who ‘owns’ biological and genetic information? How equal will access be to treatments developed using these technologies? What do these new areas of biological knowledge do to our conceptions of others – and of ourselves – as human beings?

Baroness Onora O’Neill is a professor of philosophy, and until 2006 was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge. She has authored many books, most recently Rethinking Informed Consent in Bioethics (Cambridge, 2007), and has been influential in presenting philosophical thought to a public audience, giving the Reith lectures on ‘The Philosophy of Trust’ in 2002. She is currently chair of the Nuffield Foundation, and President of the British Academy.

Registration required:

No

Free:

Yes