RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Harris, harmed states, and sexed bodies
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 276
OP 279
DO 10.1136/jme.2010.039982
VO 37
IS 5
A1 Robert Sparrow
YR 2011
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/37/5/276.abstract
AB This paper criticises John Harris's attempts to defend an account of a ‘harmed condition’ that can stand independently of intuitions about what is ‘normal’. I argue that because Homo sapiens is a sexually dimorphic species, determining whether a particular individual is in a harmed condition or not will sometimes require making reference to the normal capacities of their sex. Consequently, Harris's account is unable to play the role he intends for it in debates about the ethics of human enhancement.