大象传媒

Here are the instructions for your office Christmas party, issued by the Public and Commercial Services Union: 鈥淪exual harassment and inappropriate behaviour are just as unacceptable at social events as they are in the workplace. This includes unwelcome comments, gestures or physical actions. Alcohol is not a defence for such conduct and employers are obligated to address these issues seriously.鈥�

This could be considered an example of Moral Managerialism - a philosophy of enforcing, by rules and regulations, behaviour that once was left to the individual鈥檚 sense of decency. Since human beings are fallible, is this a welcome institutional safety net or an attack on an individual鈥檚 agency to do the right thing?

Philosophically, can 鈥� and should 鈥� we try to make people better behaved? There鈥檚 one approach we haven鈥檛 tried, but it鈥檚 exciting some scientists. It鈥檚 called 鈥榤oral bio-enhancement鈥� 鈥� basically a drug that can make you good, a do-as-you-would-be-done-by pill, a statin for the soul. If all you have to do, to be a good person, is obey the rules or take a tablet鈥� can human virtue exist?

Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Anne McElvoy, Mona Siddiqui, Giles Fraser and Inaya Folarin-Iman.
Witnesses: Ros Taylor, Zoe Strimpel, Julian Savulescu and Andrew Peterson.

Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant Producer: Peter Everett
Editor: Tim Pemberton