Enhancement or empathy education? From pedagogical anthropology to educational practices

Abstract

In the last twenty years human enhancement has become one of the major themes in applied ethics. In this contribution I discuss a specific form of enhancement, the ethical one, in particular the empathy enhancement, understood as one of the possible motivations of morally oriented actions. I propose some arguments to sustain that the educational processes are preferable to biochemical enhancement practices. Finally, I focus on some suggestions that can inspire educational practices, in order to cultivate the multiple and complex dimensions that underlie the concept of empathy.