Xavier Symons

1 week ago | thepublicdiscourse.com | Xavier Symons

Elon Musk’s family life and views on procreation are making the news, including in a recent exposé in the Wall Street Journal interviewing several women who have borne his children. The picture that has emerged is ugly, messy, and weird. This is not just a story about a talented but morally flawed Silicon Valley visionary. Musk’s is an attitude of detached posthuman nihilism that enables him to evade the norms of familial relationships in the pursuit of creating more and better babies.

Jan 22, 2025 | onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Xavier Symons

1 INTRODUCTION The global community has responded to the spectre of human-induced climate change by seeking more sustainable forms of environmental resource use and altering energy production and consumption. One area of focus has been health systems, which are invariably one of the biggest energy consumers and waste producers in an economy.

Jan 2, 2025 | thepublicdiscourse.com | Xavier Symons

I am an ethics professor, and in my moral philosophy classes, I often appeal to the universal belief in the immorality of murder to show why moral relativism—the view that morality is contextual and subjective—is mistaken. My expectation until now has been that students will agree with me. After witnessing the public response to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly by Luigi Mangione, I am no longer that confident.

Dec 10, 2024 | thepublicdiscourse.com | Xavier Symons

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)—the screening of human embryos created in vitro for disease-related genetic mutations—was once an exceptional test performed by only a small number of patients undergoing IVF. Today, it is no longer a rarity, but a common step within the IVF process. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the proportion of IVF cycles using PGD increased from 14 percent in 2014 to 44 percent in 2018.

Nov 5, 2024 | jme.bmj.com | Daniel Rodger |Daniel Hurst |Christopher A Bobier |Xavier Symons

The case for genetic disenhancementPigs are already genetically altered for xenotransplantation research. Genetically engineered pigs for xenotransplantation are created using somatic cell nuclear transfer and are genetically modified to prevent hyperacute and acute vascular rejection and to reduce the risk of xenozoonosis.