28 Aug 03
1 edit
Originally posted by ivanhoe
Is it ethical to produce fine human offspring by improvement of inherited qualities ?
Why would it be unethical?
Is it desirable to change human beings according to our needs ?
Is perfection of our lives and thus perfection of ourselves not our overall goal as a species. Well, aside from survival.
Is the Human Genome Project a prelude to The Eugenics of our time ?
I am unfortunately unfamiliar with the concept. The Eugenics, at this time.
Should we worry about it or ... ?
Unless it is going to kill all of us in our lifetime, why bother?
28 Aug 03
2 edits
Originally posted by ivanhoeIvanH,
Is it ethical to produce fine human offspring by improvement of inherited qualities ?
Is it desirable to change human beings according to our needs ?
Is the Human Genome Project a prelude to The Eugenics of our time ?
Should we worry about it or ... ?
IvanH.
Congratulations on generating another very interesting and controversial topic for the forums. This question will play large in the next 50 years of human development. Right now, it is academic. We can't really do much with genetic innoculation and gene splicing yet. The moral question has prevented much research to date. The groundwork is being layed, however.
Is it ethical to produce fine human offspring by improvement of inherited qualities? Wow! That is a thousand questions, not one. Where to begin? I would say that first, over the next two to three generations we should concentrate on "genetic" repair. That is to say, let our dollars go to lessening the burden for those who suffer from the many terrible conditions that MAY or may not be repairable by genetic repair and/or prevention. Getting a "big smile" or a "pretty face" onto our offspring should be way, way down on the list of things to do.
I have no way of knowing what "our needs" refers to. Again, lets leave that until we have done the obvious. If we get to the stars and discover nothing but "ocean" worlds, would i support engineering humans capable of growing gills? Yes. If they wanted to be modified. No. If someone forces the issue.
The crux. We know what happened with Mr. Hitler. The list of "who's who" that adopted eugenics is a mile long, almost all of whom were liberals. The most notable was FD Roosevelt. It took Hitler to point out the "wrongness" of "superior man" theories. Hopefully we will have a working knowledge of history to help us avoid the stupid mistakes of the past. If the HGP does show any resemblence to Eugenics, it is up to our educational system to remind us of the importance of history.
We should worry about it no end. This issue will cut across religious, class and every other grouping that humans have devised. Yes. Worry. But Study and Teach and stay on top of the SCIENCE and ETHICS.
This is the abortion issue multiplied by a thousand. My opinion now is that it is up to every individual, not to society to decide what can or should be done genetically. I am also glad that I am too old to worry about this. I have about 20 years left and my children are raised. I hope all the youngsters take this issue seriously and educate themselves to the best of their ability. The "Big Debate" will be on them in twenty years or so.
The Dilema. If you "improve" your children and i don't improve mine.... How long before my children are "servants" to yours? Or even worse... at some point hundreds of years away... could there develop a "slave" class based on genetic enhancement to natural? If improving the blood flow to the meningual lining really will increase IQ... Hard and serious thought and choice to be faced there.