Playing God

Abstract

‘Playing God’ is a phrase used to describe acts or decisions about matters that the speaker believes should be either treated with extreme caution or left well alone. It frequently presupposes a divinely ordained order in the moral universe that it would be reckless or impermissible to transgress. The phrase is often used in bioethics, especially in connection with decisions about the termination of life and genetic manipulation. ‘Playing God’ implicitly appeals to an underlying moral principle, but if that principle is not explicitly stated, then the phrase merely serves as a rhetorical device that obfuscates rather than illuminates moral deliberation.