PhD, Professor of Applied Ethics
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Director of the
NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab
NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab
Head of the Greek Unit of the
International Chair in Bioethics (WMA CC)
Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople
Berlin: Logos Verlag, 2023, 260 pages
Human reproductive cloning aims to produce duplicates, i.e., people who are phenotypically and genetically identical to those already in existence. This might appear to actually threaten human dignity, because it calls into question our much-vaunted, precious uniqueness. This is precisely what this book sets out to explore: Whether, in what sense, and to what extent human reproductive cloning can threaten human uniqueness and dignity, particularly by either promoting or violating certain human rights or moral rights.
“This is a thorough, well-written and well-balanced account of the prospect of reproductive cloning for human beings. Even though the author reaches no final and definitive conclusion – indeed, precisely because he considers arguments on all sides and leaves his readers with further questions – it’s a book that should be read by both scientists and decision makers.”
Stephen R. L. Clark, University of Liverpool
“The idea of duplicating human beings by cloning or otherwise rarely fails to strike us as deeply irritating. This illuminating and well-written book offers guidance to everyone interested in exploring the reasons behind this obstinate intuition.”
Dieter Birnbacher, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
“Ethical debates directly address the most difficult and pressing questions. Evangelos Protopapadakis’ book is the most telling example of this: frontal, thoroughly analytical, and provocative, a real exercise in philosophizing that engages the reader.”
Viorel Vizureanu, University of Bucharest
From dawn till dusk: Bioethical insights into the beginning and the end of life
Berlin: Logos Verlag, 2019, 252 pages
From Dawn till Dusk embraces the conceptual challenges often associated with Bioethics by taking the reader on a journey that embodies the circle of life and what it means to be human. The beginning and the end of life have always been an impossible riddle to humans. Bioethics does not aspire to unveil utter truths regarding the purpose of our existence; on the contrary, its task is to settle controversial issues that arise within this finite, very fragile and vulnerable life, yet a life we still have to live. This book discusses thorny ethical issues that transcend time and are related to the dawn and the dusk of life: abortion and infanticide, genetic engineering, human reproductive cloning, the fear of death, rational suicide, and the right to die. The book's highest aspiration, though, is to both provide the reader with an opportunity to see the world from different perspectives and to showcase the irresistible charms of bioethical debates.
“Evangelos D. Protopapadakis’ book is a philosophically rich discussion of major topics in bioethics about issues of life and death. The work is original and important. I believe the author is correct to argue that the central issues of bioethics at its core in these areas should be understood as moral in nature and should not be framed as principally legal or scientific.”
Tom L. Beauchamp, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Georgetown University
“This book brings contemporary issues in bioethics into conversation with different philosophical views, both ancient and modern. The result is a rewarding and very readable discussion on a range of important questions about life and death.”
Peter Singer, Princeton University & University of Melbourne
“Bioethics is – in philosophical terms – a new field. But it builds on centuries of thought on the human condition, the meaning of life, and the fundamental ethical question: What should we do? Evangelos D. Protopapadakis’ masterful volume traces modern bioethical debates, with all their increasing scientific complexity, back through ancient and modern philosophical thought. The result is a sparkling and engaging journey through the history of ideas and the current ethical challenges at the beginning and end of life.”
Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
“As the Head of the Greek Unit of the Chair, but also as an ethicist and a bioethicist, Professor Protopapadakis has never been weary to contribute to philosophically nuanced bioethical debates. This inspiring book is the manifestation of his attitude towards Bioethics.”
Amnon Carmi, Holder of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics (Haifa)
“This book presents important connections between current positions and classical approaches in ethics, written in a lively way.”
Hans-Werner Ingensiep, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Κλωνοποίηση και Βιοηθική: Κλωνοποίηση Ανθρώπων και Δικαιώματα
Αθήνα: Παπαζήσης, 2013, 216 σελίδες
Ο μόνος τρόπος να ανακαλύψουμε τα όρια του εφικτού, έγραψε κάποτε ο Arthur C. Clarke, είναι να τα υπερβούμε αναζητώντας το ανέφικτο. Αυτό φαντάζει απόλυτα ταιριαστό στην σύγχρονη Γενετική γενικώς, και ιδιαίτερα στην πλέον προβεβλημένη -αλλά και περισσότερο διαφιλονικούμενη- δυνατότητά της, την κλωνοποίηση ανθρώπων. Σε συζητήσεις που αφορούν ζητήματα προκλητικά και αμφιλεγόμενα όσο η κλωνοποίηση ανθρώπων είναι εύλογο να εμφιλοχωρούν μεταξύ άλλων αστήρικτες κινδυνολογίες, συναισθηματικές κραυγές και απόπειρες εύκολου εντυπωσιασμού. Το βιβλίο αυτό, κρατώντας απόσταση από προσεγγίσεις τέτοιου είδους, επιλέγει να εστιάσει με νηφαλιότητα στα δικαιώματα του ανθρώπου και του ηθικού προσώπου, και αποπειράται να διερευνήσει τον βαθμό στον οποίον ορισμένα από αυτά ενδέχεται είτε να πληγούν, είτε να προαχθούν στην περίπτωση που η κλωνοποίηση ανθρώπων περάσει από το στάδιο της δυνατότητας σε αυτό της εφαρμογής. Συγκεκριμένα εξετάζεται το εάν και κατά πόσον η κλωνοποίηση ανθρώπων θα προήγαγε το δικαίωμα στην ελευθερία της επιστημονικής έρευνας και το αντίστοιχο στην αναπαραγωγική ελευθερία, καθώς το εάν και σε ποιον βαθμό θα μπορούσε δυνάμει της κλωνοποίησης να θιγεί το δικαίωμα του κλώνου στην μοναδικότητα, στην άγνοια της γενετικής του κατασκευής και στο ανοικτό μέλλον του.
Animal Ethics: Past and Present Perspectives
Berlin: Logos Verlag, 2012, 298 pages
Philosophy, as Aristotle said, originates in wonder. And nonhuman animals have long been a source of wonder to humans, especially in regard to the treatment they deserve. The upshot is that Western philosophy has been concerned with the way in which we ought to treat nonhuman animals since its origins with the pre-Socratic philosophers. Animal ethics is a highly challenging field, as well as one of the liveliest areas of debate in ethics in recent years. Not only has this area issued in a range of attention-grabbing controversies but it has also led to the exploration of novel and imaginative approaches to worn-out issues. This book is roughly evenly divided between the presentation and discussion of a range of influential past approaches to animal ethics and an equally significant range of contemporary approaches. We need to understand the legacy of the past and the resources that it offers us while also forging new views that are appropriate to our increasingly developed understanding of the nature of nonhuman animals.
Contributors: George Arabatzis, Steven Best, Stephen R. L. Clark, Myrto Dragona-Monachou, Warwick Fox, Gary Francione, Xavier Labbee, Panagiotis Pantazakos, Filimon Peonidis, Evangelos Protopapadakis, Tom Regan, Mark Rowlands, Roger Scruton, Peter Singer, Gary Steiner, Georgios Steiris
About Evangelos D. Protopapadakis
PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Ethics,,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Directror of the NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab
Head of the Greek Unit of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics (Haifa)