Abstract

In his recent book "Die Zukunft der menschlichen Natur", Jürgen Habermas argues against the so called "liberal eugenics" practices. What this kind of practices would imply, in fact, is a deep modification of our collective way of understanding human nature and, above all, of understanding what being a human means. In this essay Habermas' position is reconstructed with reference to the author's previous understanding of the relation between "the good" and "the right" (Morality and Ethics) in order to suggest that Habermas' proceduralism has being now replaced by normative role accorded to an ethical self-understanding of humanity. Habermas' essay on "Fede e sapere" (included in the Italian translation of "Die Zukunft der menschlichen Natur") is presented as evidence of Habermas' new attitude towards a critical reappraisal of tradition.