Are There Ethical Limitations for Improving Physical Performance in Soldiers?
Abstract
Like athletes, soldiers improve their individual performance by specific, mixed and progressive training. The technical efficiency of soldiers results from several factors, including the individual responsiveness to training, the nature of both physical and mental training, and then depends on the individual talent and degree of preparation. However, whatever the sport activity, taking exams, fighting in a war, or even simply living longer, the desire to improve its performance is inherently human. Drugs have been used from pre-Christian times and even in mythology, performers used unfair tactics. Stimulant use has continued down the years and has led to the development of many pharmaceutical preparations. Recent revelations about the development of THG and other designer drugs in laboratories testify to the fact that researches to improving human performance are burning issues. Drug doping uses therapeutic advances in exercise physiology and clinical pharmacology to provide unfair advantages to athletes; drugs used enhance performance as stimulants, such as amphetamines, enhance performance by increasing the amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells or are markedly anabolic. In addition, gene doping uses new scientific developments that manipulate DNA by either injecting novel genes or modulating existing genes. Very recent papers clearly demonstrate, at least in animal models, the potential effectiveness of such methods. However, while training, practicing and studying are all successful and ethically acceptable strategies to improve performance, pharmaceutical enhancements and gene doping create profound ethical dilemmas and concerns about the integrity of sport and the health effects of long-term use. Cases abound of athletes using performance-enhancers, that is why it is very important to be clear about the ethical foundations of sport and the arguments for and against the use of performance enhancing technologies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA568365
Entities
People
- Alexandra Malgoyre
- Herve Sanchez
- Nathalie Koulmann
- Sébastien Banzet
- Xavier Bigard