Lectures of Opportunity: "On a Soldier’s Obligation to Enhance"

On a Soldier’s Obligation to Enhance

Whether or not it is morally permissibility for a given person to pharmacologically enhance themselves has been debated in a number of contexts. Often times, the conversation centers around the use of enhancements in sport. In this talk, I will lay out the debate and argue that more often than not, pharmacological enhancements are morally permissible to take and may even be morally obligatory depending on the context. I will then consider whether or not a soldier, or a general has an obligation to enhance. I argue that both soldiers and generals have an obligation to enhance in many situations. I’ll explain what those situations entail, and why these obligations hold in many military contexts.

About this Lecture

Lectures of Opportunity offers U.S. Naval War College (NWC) students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn more about national and international socio-political subjects that may be of relevance to the NWC community.