In the spring of 2022 I set out to create my own club and gave it this description; 

What would you do if you had the option to change your own DNA? Would you make yourself smarter? Stronger? Faster? Less awkward? We live in a world where such scientific advancements may soon be at our fingertips. How far is too far when it comes to our advancement, and what does that look like? Is there a point when humans should stop creating medicines to prolong our lives? In this class, we'll lead discussions on the new scientific revolution that may soon bring sci-fi into reality, and the ethical concerns that come with it. Bring yourselves and your curiosity, and think about things like you never have before.

The club started with 3 discussions led by myself, with these prompts:

1) CRISPR: The newest, revolutionary gene-editing technique. Under what circumstances should humans be able to edit nature?

2) Animal testing: Testing on animals has paved the way for all modern medicine. But are we entitled to prioritize our lives over theirs?

3) The extent of medicine: How far is too far when making ourselves invulnerable to disease?

The floor was then opened up to discussion from others in the club, with topics ranging from the revival of extinct species to drugs to enhance intelligence.

I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, not expecting anyone, except my friends whom I had already begged, to show up. Despite its size, the fiery almost argument-like debates were really quite something to watch. In it, we explored some of humanity's biggest questions, and I couldn’t be more proud of the open mindset everyone brought every Monday. Now onto responses from members of the club!

1) Why did you join this club? What interested you about bioethics? 
John: I was interested in the subject of the club, it's fascinating to see how many moral questions are brought up by each new or hypothetical advancement in technology.

Sam Poole: I like arguing with Matthew and others. Also understanding the ethical implications of various things that might occur in our world as human technological capacity advances is really awesome.

Matthew: Arguing is why I joined. Specifically with Sam. It’s an excellent back and forth to be had. Many things to be said. There are many things to add to, act as devil's advocate, and get my brain juices flowing with maximum efficiency. 

Valeria: I was interested in bioethics because I was told the club was interesting. There were some funny quotes on discord. 

Anakai: I was curious about the topic of Bioethics, I did not know what it meant before I attended this club. What kept me interested was watching arguments unfold, they were always exciting and funny to me one way or another. 

2) What was your favorite discussion? Favorite questions? Why was it your favorite?
Matthew: Cloning was my favorite topic, as we got to dive into the value of human life, and whether or not such life would diminish with cloning. It brought up several ethical questions about human life, animal life, veganism, murder, and so on and so forth. 

Questions from cloning discussion: What would be the benefits and downsides of cloning? Do human clones count as people, and would they have the same rights as people? Is cloning the secret to immortality? What if dead people could be cloned? Would that violate the rights of the dead person?

John: I enjoyed discussions on the topic of animal domestication because it's a topic I've done a lot of research on and I felt like I had a lot of factual evidence to add to the discussion.

Questions from animal domestication discussion: Do animals belong in captivity? Are there any exceptions? Like for conservation purposes, entertainment, or as pets? Do you think there is a range of animals humans are "allowed” to have as pets"? Is it more about the safety of humans or of the animals? Is there a limit to domestication? Do you think humans should continue to domesticate animals, or should there be a set number for each species?

Sam: I very much enjoyed the enhanced intelligence drugs one since it allowed us to see the personal choices people would have made if they were actually offered those drugs as well as the implications for society of those drugs.

Anakai: Every time immortality comes up in a topic. I don’t have a super-strong opinion on living forever, but apparently, other people do. And each argument for or against immortality has a strong point. I suppose I could say this for any other topic, but immortality stuck out to me. 

3) What do you feel you have learned or taken away from this club?
John: I’ve learned that there is a general consensus that new and groundbreaking technology needs to be regulated, otherwise it will be exploited for power and increase the issues we already see in the world. However, there is also a great deal of optimism that in the right hands it can be used beneficially.

Matthew: I have learned many people's pet peeves with regards to arguing. It has also allowed me to hone my arguing and speaking abilities against others. To be able to keep my cool and continue to argue with others is an excellent skill. 

Valeria: I learned that many people are interested in the intersection of philosophy and bioethics.

Sam Poole: I have learned that I can argue for 45 minutes straight back and forth without getting tired and still not exhaust a topic.

Anakai: I have learned how to listen with intent. Sometimes what other people have to say is the best part of the argument, and I can’t spend the entirety of that trying to form an opinion. That's something I can do afterward.

In the end, I think it's important to answer why we are discussing these topics. On an individual scale, there's really not much impact we can make on decisions on the usage of CRISPR, or how far is too far when innovating medicine. But that's not really the point. What I hope to achieve from holding this club, is to teach others to have empathy towards fellow humans, extending to all forms of life. Bioethics makes people really think about the impact we humans have on our world and all the implications that come with trying to understand it. I created the club to create just a little bit of love and awareness, which we could all use a whole lot more of.