A Greater Freedom

Biotechnology, Love, and Human Destiny (In Dialogue with Hans Jonas and Jurgen Habermas)

by Stephan Kampowski

Book cover: A Greater Freedom

Extent: 204 pages

Publisher: The Lutterworth Press

Subjects: Earth & Life Sciences 

Language: English

Paperback (No longer our product)

(February 2014)

ISBN: 9780718893194

5.98 x 9.02 inches

Price: $33.00

In stock

PDF (Published)

(February 2014)

ISBN: 9780718841621

Price: $24.00

An astute and timely study in theological ethics, analysing the promises of biotechnology and the risks that it poses to a proper understanding of human freedom and destiny.


How does biotechnology touch on human destiny? What are its promises and challenges? In search for a response, the present volume turns to the thought of Hans Jonas, one of the pioneers and founding fathers of bioethics. The continued relevance of his ideas is exemplified by the way Jurgen Habermas applies them to the current debate. The chief promise of biotechnology is to increase our freedom by overcoming the limits of the human condition. The main risk of biotechnology, as both Jonas and Habermas seeit, is to diminish or outright abolish our capacity for responsibility and morality. It is argued that the greater freedom is not simply freedom from constraints but freedom for our destiny: the freedom to be the benevolent, responsible, and spontaneous authors of our lives, capable of communion and love. The touchstone for evaluating any biotechnological procedure has to be this greater freedom.

  • By (author) Stephan Kampowski

'Kampowski shows the enduring relevance of Jonas's thought for engaging the thorny challenges facing humanity today. Overall, the book provides the English-speaking bioethicist with an effective introduction to the German conversation.... Kampowski's engagement with Jonas offers a promising way forward for addressing biotechnology.'- Ian Clausen, Reviews in Religion and Theology, Volume 24 Issue 4, October 2017
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