The Case For Perfection

Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.

Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.

A profile of Henry Ford (1863-1947), the Ford Motor Company founder whose Model T in 1908 changed the auto industry. He also instituted the assembly line (an idea borrowed from the meatpacking industry), introduced the $5/8-hour workday, and investigated employees through his company's Sociological Department. (Anyone who failed to pass muster had wages withheld and/or were fired.) The documentary also details his anti-Semitism, including a newspaper he purchased in order to publicize his views. ~ Jeff Gemmill, Rovi

This book critically examines what role, if any, should the notion of perfection play in the debate regarding the ethics of human enhancement. It defends that the concept of «human perfection» needs to be central when morally assessing human enhancements.

Agatha Christie demonstrates her unparalleled mastery with Three Blind Mice and Other Stories—a classic compendium of mystery and suspense, crime and detection, whose title novella served as the basis for The Mousetrap, the longest running stage play in the history of the London theater. A blinding snowstorm—and a homicidal maniac—traps a small party of friends in an isolated estate. Out of this deceptively simple setup, Agatha Christie fashioned one of her most ingenious puzzlers, which in turn would provide the basis for The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in history. From this classic title novella to the deliciously clever gems on its tail (solved to perfection by Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple), this rare collection of murder most foul showcases Christie at her inventive best, proving her reputation as "the champion deceiver of our time" (New York Times).

A British detective superintendent recounts a remarkable ten-year investigation, and other compelling murder cases he worked in his long police career. Anthony Nott joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971, in a very different world from that of today. In this memoir he describes his early experiences in the Met, including the arrest of a man for murdering a prostitute in Kings Cross. He was present when a fellow police officer was almost stabbed to death, and witnessed an act of police brutality when he interrupted the beating of a petty criminal in a cell by the CID. In 1976, he transferred to the county force of Dorset where, not long after his promotion to detective sergeant, he engaged in what would be a ten-year long investigation into the disappearance of Monica Taylor, leading to the eventual conviction of her husband, Peter, for what was almost the perfect murder—Monica’s remains were never found. He also recounts a series of other cases in which he was involved, from the murder and decapitation of a woman in Bournemouth and the random killing of another, to the extremely violent killing of a gay man in Boscombe Gardens, Bournemouth, in which it took two years to bring the perpetrators to justice. While he served as a DCI in Bournemouth in 1994, the chance visit of a detective sergeant from Guernsey, who was investigating a life insurance fraud, led to the reopening of a missing person enquiry from eight years earlier, and resulted in the conviction of Russell Causley for murder, despite his wife’s body also never being recovered. This book provides an insight into the methodical and transparent way in which the police investigate complicated crimes—from riots to almost perfect murders.

A couple desperate to have a child consider one unsettling option in this thriller by the #1 international bestselling author of the Roy Grace series. After the tragic loss of their young son to a rare genetic disorder, John and Naomi discover they both carry a rogue gene. Having another child by conventional means is too much risk to bear. When they find geneticist Dr Leo Dettore it seems like the answer to their prayers. Every aspect of the child can be chosen and manufactured, from height and eye color to intelligence and sporting prowess. But realizing the danger too late, Naomi is already pregnant when they understand the nightmare world they are entering . . . Praise for Perfect People: “Peter James’s clever page-turner Perfect People focuses not on the past but risks for the future.” —The Times “As ever, James writes beautifully, maintaining the pace with short, punchy chapters. But it’s his firm grasp of the moral issues surrounding designer babies that makes Perfect People so satisfying—and so unsettling.” —The Guardian “James has produced a suitably breathless fan-pleaser about accelerating evolution.” —The Daily Telegraph “The ending is so horrifyingly scary that I was unable to sleep properly for several nights.” —The Mail on Sunday