Alrighty, well it appears that I’m back. Not because I enjoy the soft murmuring hum of the computer, or the pale light of my LCD screen, or even because I feel that the world cannot do without my dry, cynical point of view. No –the only reason that I’m back is because Unit 5 Biology has been mocking me relentlessly. It haunts my dreams, and must be put to rest.
All right, just try not to make this one too long, would you?
All right, just try not to make this one too long, would you?
Ehh... I guess. Anyway, before I get started, let me just clarify part of the question. I don’t think that gene research is “out of hand”, nor will it be in the near future. I’m not really sure what the term means exactly, but I do know that research into this field is not carried out on live test subjects, does not require an excess of money, and does not break any laws or regulations. It is also perfectly sustainable. Furthermore, I don’t believe that gene research will be “out of hand” in the future either. There are no indications of an increase in back-alley gene replicators, gene bandits, clone slavers, gene-specific biological warfare agents, genetically modified super-humans, or even failed attempts at genetically modified super-humans (zombies, to the lay person).
Okay. I think I’m with you so far.
Well first of all, as with all things there are two sides to this argument; both surprisingly valid. Let’s let first things be first, shall we? The blog only asked about the social and ethical implications of the research and technology that has already been created, so I will focus on that.
As far as social implications go, we can all be fairly sure that there will never be a consensus on anything. Ever. There are always two sides to the story. Should we stop meddling in things which we have no business in, or continue to push the boundaries of human ingenuity? One prevalent point of view which confuses me is our belief that “playing god” is wrong -that we all have too much power over our world. Who decides just how much is too much, however? Who among us has enough wisdom and knowledge to step up onto a pedestal and tell us what is and isn’t good for the well being of the human race? Hippies. That’s right. Who else but hippies to tell the rest of the world that they are wrong? And it’s not like they have to explain themselves either! There’s no need for any reasoning for why it’s wrong or what the repercussions are.
As far as social implications go, we can all be fairly sure that there will never be a consensus on anything. Ever. There are always two sides to the story. Should we stop meddling in things which we have no business in, or continue to push the boundaries of human ingenuity? One prevalent point of view which confuses me is our belief that “playing god” is wrong -that we all have too much power over our world. Who decides just how much is too much, however? Who among us has enough wisdom and knowledge to step up onto a pedestal and tell us what is and isn’t good for the well being of the human race? Hippies. That’s right. Who else but hippies to tell the rest of the world that they are wrong? And it’s not like they have to explain themselves either! There’s no need for any reasoning for why it’s wrong or what the repercussions are.
Why? BECAUSE THEY’RE HIPPIES!! Sorry, got a little off topic there.
No problem . I say things that I’m going to regret later too.
Yea.. no, I stand by that. Anyway, as I said, there will always be two points of view. Gene research has the ability to give people a lot of power, whether good or bad. Depending on the nature of any advancement, this could even cause a segregation of people depending on their beliefs. This is nothing new. In fact, I am going to address social and ethical implications together, since they are kind of the same thing. Societies usually get together based on similar views, ethical or otherwise.
Social implications should really have nothing to do with gene research at its current stage. Maybe when all the biologically augmented supermen start showing up, then we should all start wondering about segregation and prejudice. Right now, however, the best we’ve got is a few solutions to various human ailments. I think we’ll all find that it’s usually the same people who are always complaining. Take any online game, for instance. You could go around having a lot of fun in the game, not really noticing any problems. Then there are the forums. As soon as you start to leaf through the endless threads, you start to see a pattern: people complaining. There’s always a majority of people who say that the character mechanics are hopelessly broken, or that their class is always getting the short end of the stick. This is true with all online games, oddly enough. To put it bluntly –you can spend time enjoying the game, or simply complaining about it. Apparently, both have their own appeal. You also get points for guessing the specific online game I’m talking about, just so you know.
Social implications should really have nothing to do with gene research at its current stage. Maybe when all the biologically augmented supermen start showing up, then we should all start wondering about segregation and prejudice. Right now, however, the best we’ve got is a few solutions to various human ailments. I think we’ll all find that it’s usually the same people who are always complaining. Take any online game, for instance. You could go around having a lot of fun in the game, not really noticing any problems. Then there are the forums. As soon as you start to leaf through the endless threads, you start to see a pattern: people complaining. There’s always a majority of people who say that the character mechanics are hopelessly broken, or that their class is always getting the short end of the stick. This is true with all online games, oddly enough. To put it bluntly –you can spend time enjoying the game, or simply complaining about it. Apparently, both have their own appeal. You also get points for guessing the specific online game I’m talking about, just so you know.
Ohh, I get it. Uhh... Runescape?
No; good try. Alrighty, almost done! I’m trying to keep it short, so as not to waste precious time. Time that could be spent buying a pennywhistle at the market or learning how to play the washboard. Lastly, I want to take a look at the various technologies that were made possible by gene research.
( I was going to put a little runescape screenshot in here,but that would be incredibly cheesy. So instead, here is one of similar value)
What?
It would seem that the field of genetic engineering has been spawned by the all the research into genetics. We can now change the genetic structure of organisms for the better, such as increasing disease resistance. Even medicines can be genetically engineered; one famous example being insulin. Genetically modified foods also seem to be the best application of this field of study (and not super-humans, apparently). Also, a new type of art form is being created; in which people create living art forms. I’m not even going to touch that one.
Wierd. I also have a few questions, if you don’t mind.
Well I do mind. Anyway. There you have it. That thing that you asked for, in words and spaces. I think I’ll get started on the next bio blog now.
But... my questions! How am I supposed to know thing now?
Tough bananas; go read my sources; wikipedia is also good.
-'till next time.
Picture Sources:
Myself
Sources:
excerpts of Charles Darwin's works
1 comment
A good point you adressed here, whether it was your intention to do so or not, is the scale of which children are designed. I think when most people here the term "Designer baby" they think of Gattica like transformations. However very small modifications that don't do more than make someone slightly more disease resistant will not give them a huge advantage over anyone else. This wouldn't lead to the massive segregation i mentioned in my bio blog, and wouldn't be all that much of a problem. However, there WILL always be hippies
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