We all know by now that Frankenstein had try to play God by creating a human being super strong, tall and pretty ugly - even if that wasn't really his goal. He wanted to make a human that could never die from disease. And there he got it, his big and strong creature which the scientist chose every single part of it.With that in mind, I was in my psychology class last week, and my teacher said something like : ''Women can now act like God and choose pretty much everything their baby will have'' as a genetic point of view. I was like ''Whoa! That's just like Frankenstein!''
Today with the technological progress, women can choose what their futur baby would look like, what kind of IQ they would have and even the personality! The artificial insemination is very much like playing God: You have a list of donor fathers/genitors, with all their genetic information, and you make your choice. Blond thin hair, green eyes, handsome face, tall limbs, high IQ and an ''easygoing'' personality. Of course, it is never 100% sure that the result - your child, in other words - will be exactly like how you imagined, but the point remains : you have the power to decide what your son or daughter will be like, even before the conception! You don't even have a partner to procreate and there you are, choosing between dark brown or light brown hair for your future child. I think it's cool but also a bit scary. At least, I guess mothers won't abandon their ''perfect'' child and give him all the love that he needs. Or maybe this will lead to deception if the baby isn't like it was expected, and the mother will act like Victor and rejected her creation. But I must exagerate because the baby would still look like a baby- which is, by the way, a human being-, and not like a monster, which is probably why Frankenstein has rejected his creature.
You really want to play God?
You're sure? Then go and get inseminated articifially! Not sure, heh? You can always ask Frankenstein, if you want...
Humans are always seeking to be in control of everything, whether it's their education, their relationships, their age, or their death. Being able to construct their own perfect babies is just another way of controlling the future... and playing God. Also, I find it interesting that you pointed out that the appearance of the individual comes into play in social acceptance. I wonder why we have this tendency to judge someone's importance based solely on their looks...
ReplyDeleteI don't really think that artificial insemination is as scary as it seems. You have the same choices you have with natural conception. If some one wanted to, a woman could pick her partner for their traits, and then have themselves impregnated by him. You have as much control over the results of artificial insemination and natural insemination. Because really, there is no genetic engineering involved with artificial insemination. The only difference is that the sperm is being planted in the uterus by a doctor, not the man himself.
ReplyDeleteIf one wanted a child with "Blond thin hair, green eyes, handsome face, tall limbs, high IQ and an ''easygoing'' personality" , she would have to find a single man with all those things. There is no picking and choosing. Just like mother nature intended.
Genetic engineering is a whole other story. This is a better example of playing god if you ask me
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/the-first-genet/
Pretty creepy :P
Very cool link, Tara.
DeleteI like how you revolve your topic around the idea of "playing God", and how you made it connect to "Frankenstein". Really insightful article, and just a heads up on some grammatical errors (since it is english class) :
ReplyDelete"if the baby isn't like it was expected, and the mother will act like Victor and reject her creation."
and-
"But I must not exaggerate because the baby would still look like a baby."
I agree with Sara in the generality that we always try to control everything we can. And it is human nature to be shallow. As much as we try to be more open-minded, I believe we always judge a book by its cover (even unintentionally), at least on first impressions before we give a person a second look.
Tara has a good point. And that article on the "modified" human embryo is absolutely insane!
Chloe, I like the link you make with your other class. What kind of "genetic information" is available to the woman considering artificial insemination? I thought that the descriptions of the donors were filled out by the donors themselves (as opposed to, say, their ex-girlfriends), so it's hard to know how reliable they are. Do you think this kind of "choosing" is different from the kind of selection that women (or other animals) practice when selecting a mate?
ReplyDelete