Chimeric human? The importance of human nature in times of xenotransplantation

Abstract

The article reexamines the issue of xenotransplantation (transplantation of organs between different species), making several observations on the practice of xenotransplantation in order to determine precisely what is meant by “xenotransplantation” (XTP) and to clarify the extent to which a animals transplant in the human body can be termed a “chimera”. The problematic aspects of XTP, from an ethical perspective, although not addressed in the article, are evoked in their theoretical relevance for the concept of justification, in an ethical, normative sense. Preliminary conceptual and terminological clarifications are offered by the authors so as to make clear what is meant, after all, by “nature”, both in a narrow sense and in its relevance to ethical discussions. The current debate around issues of normative and naturalist nature and ethics is reviewed in several aspects, culminating in an alternative system to be developed and proposed.