The Case Against Perfection
by Michael Sandel
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Mar 2026 on Huberman Lab.
The general take
Alex Marson praises Michael Sandel's "The Case Against Perfection" as a thoughtful book that examines what we lose when we chase engineered perfection, arguing instead for embracing chance and happenstance in how we relate to our children and ourselves.
About
From the winner of the 2025 Berggruen Prize “Sandel explores a paramount question of our era: how to extend the power and promise of biomedical science to overcome debility without compromising our humanity. His arguments are acute and penetrating, melding sound logic with compassion.” ―Jerome Groopman, author of How Doctors Think Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature―to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature?
Who said what
- AM
Alex Marson👍 Recommends
…book recommendation about ethics of genetic engineering and designing offspring
“There's a Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel who years ago wrote a short book called The Case Against Perfection and it's a really beautiful meditation on what's lost when we enter into this illusion of thinking that we can engineer towards some axis of perfection rather than embracing the beauty of chance and happenstance which is like a part of our relationship with our kids with ourselves.”
Huberman Lab — Avoiding, Treating & Curing Cancer With the Immune System | Dr. Alex Marsonat 35:37
Listener reviews
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