Advances in medical technologies appear to offer new opportunities for improving the human condition—especially for future generations. Purcell explains how the notion that such technologies are tools that can protect humans from vulnerability is not only mistaken but also harmful. Framing her discussion within the context of her experience with fertility treatments and the process of adoption, Purcell provides an insightful critique of the commercialized and economic distortions affecting notions of the quality of life and what people owe one another and their children…. Purcell’s style is clear and engaging, and her argument is not only cogent and persuasive but also an important call for reflection as current scientific developments threaten to outpace the human capacity for moral understanding. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.

Choice Reviews

In her monograph, Engineering Perfection, Elyse Purcell weaves compelling stories that center 'imperfection' with cogent philosophical insights drawing on feminist disability studies and standpoint epistemology. Purcell roots her analysis in a solidarity view that reimagines Iris Marion Young’s five faces of oppression as faces of vulnerability. Engineering Perfection showcases an important critique of transhumanism and its late capitalist ideology of genetic enhancement.

Mechthild Nagel, SUNY Cortland

A lucid and enlightening exploration of the value of our inescapable vulnerabilities, of the ways in which social-economic processes push us toward the pathological perfectionism of genetic engineering, and of how a saner society can be created through social solidarity by means of respect for bodily difference, relational authenticity, empowered self-direction, and mutual recognition. A must-read!

Michael K. Green, SUNY-Oneonta

Elyse Purcell’s Engineering Perfection is a fearless, clear, and exemplary work of moral philosophy. Drawing on what Purcell calls 'the Solidarity view,' the book effortlessly weaves personal narrative and reflection on the experiences of infertility, adoption, and disability with a careful consideration of the literature covering genetic technology, disability studies, Marxism, ethics, and virtue theory. The book is a careful explication of life’s vulnerabilities—illness, aging, death, misfortune, and suffering—and the way capitalism exploits those vulnerabilities. Hopefully, Purcell suggests that a model for social transformation will depend on the virtues of respect for bodily diversity, relational authenticity, empowered self-direction, and mutual recognition. This important and expansive book will be of benefit to teachers and students across many disciplines and to the general reader who desires to work toward the well-being of all in society."

Andrew Fitz-Gibbon, SUNY Cortland

Elyse Purcell’s Engineering Perfection takes readers on a riveting journey that explores the promise and perils of biotechnology applications. While genetic engineering tools do many things, recent innovations brought designer babies from thought-experiment to reality. This book is a must-read for those grappling with how best to apply these technologies to future generations—our children.

Samantha Noll, Washington State University