Many surprising factors contribute to economic success

 

 


Many surprising factors contribute to economic success. One such factor is height. According to a study reported by J Polit Econ, “For both men and women, the relationship is striking: a one-inch increase in height is associated on average with a 1.4 percent to 2.9 percent increase in weekly earnings, and a 1.0 percent to 2.3 percent increase in average hourly earnings.” On average, the taller we are, the more money we make. This prompt will focus on the ethics of enhancement and not whether it is morally right for taller people to make more money than those with a shorter stature.

Enhancement surgery is now available to lengthen limbs so that a person can become significantly taller (six-plus inches). See the following video of a news story about a person who underwent this procedure. As the video states, these procedures are quite costly, ranging from $80,000 to $150,000.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1djaNqimk (Video)

Let's consider treatment versus enhancement. By treatment, we mean to restore a person's body to the status it would have without illness or injury. By enhancement, we suggest taking a person's body beyond the status it would have when free from disease or injury. Discuss the moral implications of pursuing enhancement surgery by selecting one of the ethical perspectives (prompts) below:

Contrast what a virtue ethicist would say according to its core principles of telos, virtue, eudaimonia, and practical wisdom with what a utilitarian would say using its core principles of welfare, impartiality, sum-ranking, and consequences about the moral permissibility of human enhancements. Explain how one of these theories supports your view. Use appropriate textual evidence to back up your claim.  (USLOs 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) 
Contrast what a Kantian would say according to its core principles of universalizability, duty, impartiality, and reciprocity with what a utilitarian would say using its core principles of welfare, impartiality, sum-ranking, and consequences about the moral permissibility of human enhancements. Explain how one of these theories supports your view. Use appropriate textual evidence to back up your claim.  (USLOs 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) 
 

The Virtue Ethicist’s Perspective

A virtue ethicist, rooted in Aristotelian principles, would be skeptical of enhancement surgery, arguing it fundamentally misaligns with the purpose of human life, or telos, and compromises genuine human flourishing, or eudaimonia.

The telos of a human being, in this view, is the rational pursuit of the good life, achieved through the consistent cultivation of intellectual and moral virtues (such as courage, justice, and temperance). The virtuous life leads to eudaimonia (often translated as flourishing or living well). While an inclusive theory of eudaimonia acknowledges that external and bodily goods (like health and perhaps strength) contribute to a good life, these goods are valued only insofar as they support virtuous activity (Oskvig, 2015).

Sample Answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ethics of Enhancement: Contrasting Virtue Ethics and Utilitarianism

The decision to pursue costly, risky human enhancement, such as limb-lengthening surgery costing between $80,000 and $150,000, presents a profound ethical challenge. Since increased height is statistically linked to significantly higher weekly earnings—up to a 2.9 percent increase per inch—this enhancement is pursued for direct economic advantage, moving it beyond mere cosmetic preference into the realm of competitive societal enhancement. The moral permissibility of this act can be sharply contrasted using the core principles of Virtue Ethics and Utilitarianism.

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