In this age of utopian technologies, we can design mechanical limbs for amputees and chemically engineer happiness for depressives. But should we?

From the fluoride in our water to genetically modified babies, scientific advances pose complex new ethical questions. We ask discuss the major bioethical issues of our time. Is philosophy braced for this brave new world? Are scientists and engineers morally obliged to design a utopia? Or are things best left to ‘nature’? 

Richard Ashcroft is Professor of Bioethics at Queen Mary University of London. 

David Healy (@DrDavidHealy) is Professor of Psychiatry, at Bangor University. 

Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. 

Shahidha Bari (@ShahidhaBari) is a Fellow of the Forum for Philosophy and Senior Lecturer in Romanticism at Queen Mary University of London. 

Twitter hashtags for this event: #LSEFestival #NewWorldDisorders

This event is part of the LSE Festival: New World (Dis)Orders running from Monday 25 February to Saturday 2 March 2019, with a series of events exploring how social science can tackle global problems.

Podcast 

A podcast of this event is available to download from Brave New World.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.