The distribution of human enhancement ethics studies in terms of the levels of ethical discourse: A scoping review

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the HEE literature in terms of the distribution of the levels of ethical discourse with the scoping review method. For this purpose, 325 articles were examined in detail following the search in WOS, PubMed and Academic Search Ultimate databases. According to the results, it was found that the normative level was the most, while the case level was the least frequently used ethical discourse level. It was observed that the journals containing the selected articles were mainly included in social indexes and that there was a significant increase in the number of studies in 2014. It was determined that moral development came first, that the most frequently researched ethical theme was utility, that the prominent ethical position in the studies was bioconservative attitude, and that ethical analyses were mainly focused on comprehension rather than solution. In comparative studies, it was observed that the solution-oriented approach was more prominent in transhumanists and moderates who supported enhancement, and that studies with a moderate attitude were present at all four levels of ethical review. As a result, this dissertation contributed to fill some knowledge gaps in the HEE literature and functions as a guidance for future studies.