Technology And Space Exploration In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

It is unbelievable how fast technology can change the way society lives today, compared to how we lived in the past and what the future has in store for us. Technology can be beneficial in the health care system by helping us create medicine and find new cures for disease we have been battling for years. However, when technology is not used to benefit us it is quiet disturbing. Technology can help improve one’s way of life, but it should not be your way of life nor control your life. In The Veldt by Ray Bradbury technology ruins family life by starting to eradicate verbal communication, family bonding, and parental responsibility.

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein cannot merely be read as a literary work of the early 19th century. It represents the workings of young Shelley's mind. Further, it represents the vast scientific discoveries of the time, combined with Mary Shelley's intuitive perception of science. She views science as a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled. Shelley demonstrates this fear in the book as science drives Victor Frankenstein to create his monster. In the end, it is also his use of science that inevitably becomes his demise.

The critique of Victor’s carelessness mirrors the new technologies that humanity tries to innovate upon society. Shelley reflects on the demise in the progression of humanity because this will only further remove us from our compassion and identity [p. 266- Mary Shelley bio]. Thus, science in Shelley’s novel offers no hope, only death for both mankind

Beauty is often the most lethal poison. It intoxicates both the beholder and the beheld. Humans are raised into a society that instills certain standards of elegance and beauty. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the woes and misery of the monster is brought to the readers’ attention as humans constantly berate and abuse the creature for it’s hideous body. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein discusses the advantages and the detriments that an alluring versus unappealing body provides a person, and how that person is affected due to the pressures and assumptions of society placed upon their shoulders. Mary Shelley may have been amongst the first to examine the concept of beauty and the advantages it provides. She insinuates that the conformity of the ideals of beauty place shackles, and struggles upon those who do not fit into such standards.

Research conducted by NASA has benefitted many aspects of life especially in the medical field. When Congress established NASA in 1958, it required the organization to share information on its discoveries. As a direct result of this

Science is the knowledge gained by a systematic study, knowledge which then becomes facts or principles. In the systematic study; the first step is observation, the second step hypothesis, the third step experimentation to test the hypothesis, and lastly the conclusion whether or not the hypothesis holds true. These steps have been ingrained into every student of science, as the basic pathway to scientific discovery. This pathway holds not decision as to good or evil intention of the experiment. Though, there are always repercussions of scientific experiments. They range from the most simplistic realizations of the difference between acid and water to the principle that Earth is not the center of

Many times, we are often forced to question our standing, as humans, in the universe in light of how both humanity and the world progresses due to the continuing increase in technology as the years go on. Many are for continuing onwards to become more scientifically and technologically-oriented as time passes, but others claim that going to far with technology will prove to be the undoing of mankind. In the nineteenth century, decades before anyone truly conceived of human-made artificial life, Mary Shelley, the wife of the famed poet Percy Shelley and author, wrote a horror story by the name of Frankenstein, an enduring story that may have even sewn the first inklings of Science-Fiction themes into a novel about a man who plays God and creates

Technology and Ethics, Their Danger toMan Dr. Frankenstein is fascinated by science and attempts to learn as much as he can in the field. Frankenstein is so intrigued by his scientific findings that he fails to realize the potential consequences of his work until it is too late. Shelly uses Frankenstein's ignorance towards scientific technology and ethics to demonstrate many social points she may find important. Thomas Vargish explored the many theories surrounding Shelley’s novel and technology’s impact on humanity today in his essay, Technology and Impotence in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein is engulfed in science and the pursuit of knowledge and gets lost in his studies.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus shares a message that currently is being hotly discussed between many intellectuals and the common man, one of progress and the direction of that progress, if that progress should serve humanity or transcend us, or outright not exist. In the novel, Mary Shelley tells the story of a man striving to invent a way to resurrect or reconstruct dead organisms. The man is successful in his endeavors, but ultimately fails due to the creations own evil. It is pretty clear that the debate between traditional values, primitivist concern, and transhumanist progress was not an ongoing topic at the creation of the novel. Maybe a debate between general decadence and the heathenism of modern society was discussed, but the concept of returning to hunter gatherer societies to preserve the earth or to augment our human bodies with machines to surpass the ability of evolution was almost certainly not discussed.

In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is trying to convey the message that science and technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands. She affirms this idea through the character of Victor, a cautionary tale, but dispels the idea that all pursuit of knowledge is bad through more traditionally romantic characters such as Henry Clerval. Shelley is complicit in her understanding that curiosity and experimentation are unbreakably tied to the human condition, and tries to warn the world of the evil that can come from this. However, the effects of the interpretation of this book can vary: it is an exemplary cautionary tale, and a much needed reminder of ethics in an increasingly technology-dependent world, but one could easily take these warnings too far and use her novel as a means to quell innovation or incite censorship. In a world of technology that would be unbelievable to Shelley, her work still remains relevant, notably in the field of genetic engineering. Frankenstein raises important questions about ethics, responsibility and censorship, and is applicable to modern technological issues such as genetic engineering.

Modern science has dramatically evolved over the past years, there is a concern on whether or not people will try to play God with such developments and what damaging consequences could occur. Body modifications, cloning, Genetic engineering, and various fields in biotechnology are prime examples of fields that are attaining great advancements in a swift manner that increase concerns over the consequences. Progress in science induces people to question what it means to be a human and their own human nature, just as it causes people to question the effects that scientific progress may have on their good fortune, happiness or common welfare.The protagonist of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is incited to advance the field of

As humans, we are born with a natural desire to learn and discover. With space exploration, we are able to do just that. In an online essay called “Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost”, Dr. Joan Vernikos,

Have you ever wondered about the possibilities of finding a planet like Earth which can sustain life? Through the continuation of space exploration, we can continue to look for earth-like planets and learn much more about the mysteries of the universe. Space programs and exploration have helped mankind to develop useful knowledge in different fields such as digital technology and medicine. According to Mindy Townsend, a writer for the social networking website Care2, we have to give credit to NASA for the development of the cell phone camera, which was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), one of NASA’s research centers. (par. 2). Likewise, Townsend also gives credit to NASA for the technology used in the development of CAT scanners, microscopy, and radiography (par. 6). However, many people still argue that space exploration is a waste of money because they claim that money can be spent on other priorities such as education and health care. Even though space exploration is expensive, the United States government should continue funding space exploration to promote innovation in technology, find extraterrestrial natural resources in the near future, and protect planet earth from outer space threats like space debris and excessive solar radiation.

The mysterious vastness beyond Earth has allured many scientists to explore and contribute much of their effort to the understanding of space. Although humans have been looking up at space for thousands of years, the physical exploration of this frontier has been only going on for the past few decades. Our current understanding of space is unparalleled to any time before in our history, but we still only know a small fraction of what there is to learn. Governments around the world spend about $40 billion dollars a year (Rockefeller, 2010) hoping to undertake tasks such as “human exploration of the solar system” to discovering the origins of life itself (Tatarewicz, 2009, p. 531). Recently, the private sector has also shown interest in space exploration in order to engage in profitable activities such as harnessing minerals from asteroids. Although it is easy to debate about the benefits and negatives of space exploration in its entirety, it is simpler focus on one aspect of it - the direct effect it has to those down on Earth. Rather than trying to decide whether or not going to other planets is worth it, this paper will argue about the value of the terrestrial benefits of space exploration. It is an important topic to think about as programs such as space exploration change lives and help acquire knowledge. Despite the large costs associated with space exploration, the multitude of discoveries in the past few decades has greatly improved daily life on Earth, the jobs the

This peer-reviewed journal article talks about the positive consequences of developments in future space exploration in scientific perspective. The author states the development of future space exploration by using resources from the solar system will produce varies beneficial results, such as space tourism, asteroid resources, and so on. The main beneficiary among all the others is science. Supported by space resources, the growth of space economy can provide the cost of building scientific instruments, outposts, and infrastructures in space. Improvement in scientific technology leads to further discoveries and knowledge. Which shows the symbiotic relationship existed between science and space resources.