The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering

Chapter 3 focuses on the dilemmas facing parents as they seek to prepare their children for an increasingly competitive world. Continuing a pattern established in Chapters 1 and 2, Sandel positions genetic engineering at the far end of a continuum that also includes more familiar practices like medicating children for ADHD and other learning differences, or enrolling them in intensive sports programs or SAT prep classes. All these practices, Sandel argues, represent attempts at Mastery and Control over the inherent uncertainty of life.

Sandel does, however, draw a qualitative distinction between interventions like these and genetic modification. Sandel’s discussion of ADHD ties into the theme of Health and Eugenics. He suggests that medicine, at least in theory, seeks to heal illness and restore normal human function, and that this goal is distinct from the kind of genetic engineering that might seek to create ideal or “perfect” children. In keeping with his practice of complicating apparently simple distinctions, though, Sandel acknowledges that “normal” and “healing” are both loaded terms. Medications that aim to “correct” neuroatypical brains can also be seen as pushing patients toward a normative standard.

Advocates of genetic modification argue that parents who use it would simply be trying to give their children the best possible chance in life—an impulse that has long been associated with good parenting. Sandel’s critique of eugenics rests on a recognition that one’s chances in life are largely determined by the degree to which one conforms to cultural norms and prejudices—and that this situation is fundamentally unjust. Sandel frames genetic modification as a modern form of eugenics: If the practice of modifying children to meet cultural norms became widespread, it would greatly exacerbate the social injustices that already exist.

In this section, Sandel elaborates on Openness to the Unbidden, which he sees as the gold standard for how parents should treat their children. This openness is about acceptance and love, and he stresses that it does not require parents to accept bad things for no reason. Rather, parents should seek to help their children realize their unique potential and deal with their unique challenges—an approach that Sandel frames as antithetical to genetic engineering, which seeks to produce children who conform perfectly to societal ideals. Sandel argues that a parenting approach based on openness to the unbidden reduces the stress placed on young children by teaching them that their parents love and appreciate them for who they are.