Escape from Spiderhead by Dr. Abnesti Essay

The objective of science is to expand human knowledge and attempt to find the answers to the multitudinous mysteries of the universe. Scientists attempt make discoveries through the conduction of research through trial and error with experiments. The question lies, how far can scientists actually go until it is deemed unacceptable? The article by Ed Regis, “A Frankenstein Monster Ended Up Being a Lamb,” focuses on a story of a lamb named Dolly who was cloned by Ian Wilmut, a scientist whose intention was to create a better alternative way to produce pharmaceuticals. Although Regis attitude about cloning seems to be empathetic when it comes to creating medicine, however, his views on Victor Frankenstein’s attempt at creating human life is an action he condemns.

The Memoir Spider Eaters by Rae Yang is her personal account of her life during the Maoist revolution. In addition, she reminisces about her trials and tribulations during her active participation in the culture revolution and the great North Wilderness. Her family also had various misfortunes due to these changing ideological beliefs spread by the revolution. This memoir illustrates in great detail what Yang experienced under communist rule. Spider Eaters opened up a door to a young girl and her families struggle to be good Samaritans under communist rule and their final disillusionment of the revolution they whole heartedly believed in. Yang and her family struggled with the vast ideological changes during the Maoist Revolution, in turn,

Much credit should belong to scientists for making important technological and medical discoveries in the world. In Bishop,'sEnemies of Promise," well known scientists point out views regarding their belief in science. Representative George E. Brown, Jr., who has been trained as a physicist admits that "his faith in science has been shaken." He feels that as our knowledge of science increases, so do the occurrence of social problems. Brown, Jr. Feels that the progression of science should lead to diminishing social problems rather than an increase.(238) The real question is, is science to blame, or are the humans creating science to blame? Critics such as Brown and Lamm "blame science for what are actually the failures of individuals to use the knowledge that science has provided." Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, is a good example of a myth about a scientist who took science to an extreme.

The world is not a cultivating place for scientists. Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein; or a Modern Prometheus and Will Rodman, from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, are met with constant opposition to their studies and goals. The current state of scientific research is embodied in both these works. Both protagonists are restricted creatively and shunned by their peers. And if a scientist does not succeed or make a new and benefiting discovery, they are shunned even more and judged by society.

Many people of 20th century though, turned for truth in the logic of science. It had made many things simpler for them and had offered them a better standard of living. Even so, as Cat’s Cradle demonstrates, their is both a good and evil side to science. When it is used with careless negligence, the results of manipulating nature can be formidable. It is a tool, and must be used with respect for others. Because of this, there is ultimately a limit to the truth many people search for in this field; although we can advance through science and exploration, it doesn’t take into account human ethics and morals. It therefore doesn’t offer meaning, and it doesn’t offer happiness. One must search for those realizations from

The 21st century however forecasts an astonishing increase in innovation in another direction. While previously overshadowed by its larger cousins, physics and chemistry, it seems likely that the biological sciences will steal the limelight in the future. Mapping the genome, reversing the aging process, and finding a cure for terminal illnesses, all represent primary objectives for science. Unfortunately, the ethical questions posed by innovations in biomedicine are far greater than those posed by advances in the physical sciences. Reproductive cloning is one of these innovations, and one that arguably poses the greatest threat to the world as we know it. The universal truth, blindly accepted by man for millennia, held that a human could only be born through the sexual union of a male and a female, to be exact, of an egg and a sperm. By cloning, however, a human life can be created in the laboratory. This is done by taking human DNA and inserting it into an egg cell, sans genetic material. The resultant cell is identical to the original, and can then be inserted into a uterus, either a human or an animal one, and be grown to term, to produce a baby, while circumventing nature’s means of reproduction.

As Mankind continues to advance it is pursuit of knowledge, it is faced with myriad dilemmas, particularly in the cases of cloning, stem cell experimentation, and the genetic sequencing of viruses and pathogens. The academic article “Bioterrorism, Embryonic Stem Cells, and Frankenstein” written by Patrick Guinan, discusses the morality and potential hubris of sciences continued exploration of seemingly forbidden areas, as well as humanities identity and potential desire to achieve knowledge to rival God. Guinan 's research aims to explore, question, and ultimately bring light to the potential issues that may arise from such pursuits. This research raises several questions, as well as causes of concern, which will all be addressed in this essay. The author of this article makes use of intelligent analysis, evidence from ages both recent and ancient, and well thought out discourse, in order to cause readers to consider just what ethics and morality is to science, as well as what it is to our identity as humanity as a whole.

In the afterward to this book, author Lee Silver, professor of molecular ecology and evolutionary biology and neuroscience at Princeton, states, "My goal has been to present both the scientific and the political realities of reprogenetic technologies as I see them, along with the ethical dilemmas their use will raise. I leave it to philosophers and bioethicists to figure out how these ethical dilemmas might be resolved." As the book opens, the reader is moved scene by scene further into the future when, ultimately, the development of genetic engineering and its accessability will have formed a world even more polarized

(Glenn, Linda MacDonald, Ethical Issues in Genetic Engineering and Transgenics) There are many social and fundamental issues about genetically engineering organisms. The genetic modifyification of animal and human DNA results, intentionally or not, possesses degrees of intelligence or sentience never before tested. Instead of seeing the ‘subject’ of the experiment as a person or animal, they strip them of their rights and think of them as objects. Professor Nemur and Doctor Strauss did not care what happened to Charlie, as long as he provided the information and data they needed to make money and achieve fame. Social and legal controls should be placed on research like this. Who has the right to access these technologies and how will scarce resources (such as medical advances and novel treatments) be given out to experiment

dark underside of scientific and technological advances and the effects that has on what it means to

So, too, related controversies over the benefits and costs, the legality and morality, of biotechnical innovations in reproductive technologies, genetic engineering, and cloning, to say nothing of the ecological consequences of new biological, chemical, and nuclear weaponry that constitute central preoccupations in contemporary society.” (Nature p.234).

In the year of 1543, laying on his death bed, Nicholas Copernicus published the On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. The notions and ideas that were presented in Copernicus’s book have not only led us to believe that the Earth orbits around the Sun, but rather have led the general populace to have an intrinsic belief in the scientific method. Today, this very belief in the scientific method is being challenged by human morality. As biochemists continue to widen the scope of biopharming, countless individuals are beginning to wonder where to draw a line on transgenic organisms. As individuals, themselves, are beginning to take a stance on transgenics, governments and health organizations are also closely monitoring this ongoing struggle between scientific advancement and human morality.

Congress, the president, foreign countries, political activists, companies, consumers, churches, ethicists, doctors, patients, and even scientists have entered the fervent debate on cloning. The March edition of the Life Extension Foundation’s (LEF) magazine vocally calls for American citizens to write to their Senators and stop an anti-cloning bill from passage through both Houses (See Figure 1.) While the public argues over short-term questions – such as what is the definition of cloning, at what point does life begin, and is cloning bad – we must examine the hidden future potential and consequences of therapeutic cloning. Scientists’ direct contact with cloning technology grants us the opportunity to more accurately realize its promise

Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past twenty years. What was once considered science fiction is now yesterday’s headlines. In just a hundred and fifty years we have gone from the first combustion-powered motor vehicle to space exploration and now we are managing our lives from handheld mobile devices. So let’s face it, technology evolves at a faster rate than humans. In fact it moves at such a rapid pace that it may even surpass our moral compass in its application. In the essays, Cure or Quest for Perfection? by Goodman and Designer Genes by McKibben the authors present the possibility of genetic testing and cloning

Within the last century scientific discovery has been growing at an exponential rate. Evolution, genetics, physics, and chemistry have all greatly affected the way people view the universe and human role in it. Furthermore, the application of scientific discoveries has physically changed society. For example, humans went from being flightless to eighty years later having transportation in super sonic jets available. Rapid scientific change has caused many issues surrounding morality and science to arise. The idea behind the skepticism is that just because something can be done doesnt mean it should be. Nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and cloning have all fallen under fire due to this concept. People worry that