In many ways we are already selecting for those traits and have been for countless generations, so assuming we had a well-understood and safe method for artificially selecting for them then there should be no ethical quandaries beyond "but, that's cheating!" There are no scorekeepers of the universe, nobody's going to give us karmic demerits for finding a shortcut.
I like the "there are no scorekeepers of the universe" line.
The ability for humans to use the intelligence that evolution has provided them for whatever they see fit, including the ability to better themselves and better the species as a whole (or, sadly and unfortunately, to hurt each other), should be considered part of the evolutionary process. Just because humans have intelligence doesn't mean they exist outside of evolution. In fact, not using our evolved intelligence to influence our genetic makeup is avoiding thinking about how and why we have this intelligence to begin with.
The ability for an organism to influence the genetic makeup of itself and its descending, through either gross methods like breeding/natural selection or discrete methods like genetic engineering/modification is really just one step out of many on the evolutionary ladder.
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In many ways we are already selecting for those traits and have been for countless generations, so assuming we had a well-understood and safe method for artificially selecting for them then there should be no ethical quandaries beyond "but, that's cheating!" There are no scorekeepers of the universe, nobody's going to give us karmic demerits for finding a shortcut.
I like the "there are no scorekeepers of the universe" line.
The ability for humans to use the intelligence that evolution has provided them for whatever they see fit, including the ability to better themselves and better the species as a whole (or, sadly and unfortunately, to hurt each other), should be considered part of the evolutionary process. Just because humans have intelligence doesn't mean they exist outside of evolution. In fact, not using our evolved intelligence to influence our genetic makeup is avoiding thinking about how and why we have this intelligence to begin with.
The ability for an organism to influence the genetic makeup of itself and its descending, through either gross methods like breeding/natural selection or discrete methods like genetic engineering/modification is really just one step out of many on the evolutionary ladder.