A small rant

genetic engineering article

In response to some of the arguments made in the above article –

Imagine you had a bout with cancer. You had traumatic surgery, you had chemo, you got better. And through this devastating process, you learned things about yourself. You grew as a person, you changed. How would you feel if some one said, we knew you were going to get cancer, but we decided that it would interfere too much with your personal growth if we had done genetic manipulations on you, aren’t you pleased?

Well, I would think you might rightly be furious. And if you were a parent, watching a child undergo cancer, and you had a genetic screening which said, cancer on both sides, we could tweak the embryo make sure yours didn’t get it… well, wouldn’t you? I know I would.

Imagine you had a deep, dark depression. Joy just could not touch you. You struggled with it, you learned things about yourself, you grew as a person, you changed. But someone said to you, we had a cure for depression but we decided not to give it to you because we felt you might be a bit too creepy in an artificial happiness. Would you be pleased?

I think that if they could identify a genetic code for anxiety or depression, and they tweaked the embryo and you didn’t get it, it would a matter for immense gratitude.

The best argument against genetic engineering is definitely that the rich will become even more different than before. They will not just be cleaner and live longer (which has always been true) they will not just be better educated and have nicer clothes, they will actually be genetically superior. I don’t know if we will get to a Brave New World scenario (definitely worth rereading!) , but it is feasible.

However there is another, feasible outcome. Maybe all those in power, who are effortlessly thinner, run faster, look prettier, are 50 IQ points smarter and are genetically predisposed to happiness, maybe this bunch will also be kinder. If they are really happier, if they are genuinely less anxious and fearful, maybe they will be more relaxed about ‘sharing’ the good. What is happier in any case? Maybe they will be less fearful of difference, maybe they will be less racist, maybe they will be kinder. If there is a genetic predisposition for kindness, maybe we can throw that one in too, and so we will be a prettier, kinder, cleverer, fitter more chemically and hormonally balanced world. That doesn’t sound too bad a place to me.

Anyway, it’s inevitable. It just is. Better we talk about insisting the kindness/empathy gene is also identified and enhanced than try to stop that tide.

Otherwise the ugly brutish and stupid may take over the world… (just joking…)

things that make us happy - I read this day of a woman's life, when she took this huge but somehow inconsequential risk (ie she could be embarrassed for 10 minutes but otherwise have no impact on her life) and how happy it made her, and I thought about how how we feel about our bodies, our lives, can so circumscribe us, and how her being naked in public for 10 minutes so refreshed her. Read and enjoy - naked story

I realise I need to do some achival renovations as they don't seem to be functioning properly... not today, I'm off for coffee but soon, I promise

I love this site, it is very funny and has the best quizes!

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