The idea of teleportation has become an integral part of our concept of the world's technological future. Found in everything from Star Trek to Harry Potter to stories of superheroes, it seems that people expect teleportation to be used widely in the future. Although human teleportation does not appear to be possible in the foreseeable future, the basic technology has been developed. Since the discovery that entangled photons can be transformed into identical copies of themselves and moved from one place to another without passing through the distance between the two spaces, dozens of particles have been teleported. The theory is that, since animals and humans are essentially just collections of particles, teleportation of sentient beings might not be too far off. However, even if the technology is there, many question its morality. Despite this hesitance, human teleportation would mark the beginning of an entirely new era of scientific advancement, convenience of travel, and secular thinking.
Since the begging of their existence, humans have had an ever-growing thirst to unravel the mysteries of life. Curiosity is a part of human nature that has led to countless scientific discoveries that have changed the course of history, including the law of planetary motion, electricity, vaccinations, the model of the atom, and the Higgs boson particle. All of these findings have shaped the way we understand and react to life as we know it. The idea of progress is not just a concept liberal politicians promote to convince people to vote for them; since the beginning of our history, it has always imperative to adapt to our environment and to unravel as many mysteries about our world as possible. Human teleportation is just an extension of th...
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...he participants have to be willing to undergo the teleportation in the first place, they would also be consenting to have their original body destroyed. Since the teleported version is an exact copy, nothing would be lost; therefore, destroying the original would have no effect on the life of the new copy. Personally, I would wait to participate in teleportation until its technology was well-developed and had been used routinely for several years. If the technology became a part of everyday life, I would jump at the chance to experience such an incredible technological advancement. The human goal of progress and understanding the world around us, the sheer convenience of popularized teleportation as a means of travel, and the transition from religious beliefs and tradition to reason and critical thinking are all compelling reasons in support of human teleportation.
...eality. Our knowledge will only allow us to go so far, but we have accomplished so much in the discovery of time and space. Technology will soon advance as to where these theories could be proven and physically be possible.
Atwood takes many of today’s potential scientific developments and illustrates the worst possible outcome of what may happen if we continue the unregulated pursuit of knowledge. In reality, the scientific advances of today will yield a higher standard of living for the majority of the world tomorrow. We will continue to push for the best in everything including science, medicine, and technology; we will not allow any single person to make the sole decision to develop an idea. Scientific progression will save many lives; therefore, it should and will always be there for us.
Mankind must fight the urge to be blinded by technology’s benefits and to consider what must be lost to gain these conveniences.
Using science to modify humans, and better ourselves is becoming more of a reality every year. The term transhumanism can be defined as, a method to increase human’s physical and mental capacities using science (Koch, pg 686). It’s an idea that has been around for as long as humans. Humans will always strive to better themselves, and with new advances in technology and bioengineering this becomes more of a reality. The best examples are simple technologies like pacemakers, or prosthetics. They help people to live better. There are certainly more transhumanist technologies that will be developed to help the human race. However, there are many ethical issues related to transhumanism as well. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is a piece of literature written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It
Hughes, J. 2010. Problems of Transhumanism: Belief in Progress vs. Rational Uncertainty The institute for ethics & emerging technologies. http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/3777 Date of access: 07 Feb. 2011
“That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” were the now famous and iconic words or Neil Armstrong as he became the first man to set foot on Earth’s moon. The advanced research mankind has made to further their understanding of the vast, astronomical unknown of space has opened up numerous doors of opportunity to fathom the universe, but not without drastic repercussions.
Imagine that you are able to teleport to the not too distant future. In this world you discover that disease and poverty are no longer causes for human suffering, world hunger has become eliminated from society, and space travel is as easy as snapping your fingers. Cryonics, nanotechnology, cloning, genetic enhancement, artificial intelligence, and brain chips are all common technologies at a doctor’s office. You gasp as a friendly sounding electronic voice cries out, “Welcome to the future Natural!” You are unsure of whether being called a Natural is an insult or not, so you feign a half-hearted hello at the posthuman in front of you. Getting over the initial shock you ask the posthuman, “Who are you?” The posthuman gives an electronic sounding chuckle and shakes his head. He replies, “I am a Posthuman, and you Natural, are in Utopia. Welcome.”
Cloning, a topic that has recently caused mayhem all over the world, is possible, but will it be here to stay? The astonishing news that scientists had cloned a sheep a couple of years ago sent people into panic at the thought that humans might be next. "Cloning is a radical challenge to the most fundamental laws of biology, so it's not unreasonable to be concerned that it might threaten human society and dignity" (Macklin 64). Since most of the opposition is coming from the pure disgust of actually being able to clone species, it makes it difficult for people to get away from the emotional side of the issue and analyze the major implications cloning would have for society. To better understand this controversial issue, the pros and cons of cloning will be discussed.
With each passing moment, each ticking of the clock, any instance, whether significant or not, comes and goes and can never be taken back. With this, each moment in our lives should be cherished and spent wisely for our days are numbered. However, how people use their time as well as their perception of time has changed drastically over the past century. Recently, it has come into question whether or not the rate at which changes in society has been increasing. Since the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, mankind as a whole has gone farther than most people could have ever imagined. By looking back and evaluating the evolution of time’s impact on technology and culture as well as understanding how it is possible to be where we are, technologically, in the present time, there is no doubt that change is rapidly increasing. When this change will stop or slow however, is unknown. Julian Huxley believes that, whether he [man] wants to or not, whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not, he is in the point of fact determining the future direction of evolution on this earth (Huxley, 1957). It is possible that one day the direction of this evolution will lead to a human species transcendent of itself, something “transhuman”. If so, how this could affect the prominence and function of time within our culture could be immense.
Although maybe possible in the very distant future in my belief a few complications could make it much harder to accomplish. Teleportation as previously discussed requires great precision in turn making it very secure, but the amount of information the human body and brain stores would make this vastly more difficult than a message like before. Teleportation would most likely require a disassembly of your atoms obliterating you and reassembling you in a different location; This reconstruction may not even be correct if any disruption occurred (jumbling your information). So, physical teleportation of living being may not be feasible or morally correct at any point in time soon, although teleportation of inanimate objects could be more
There are many opinions on the topic of cloning, particularly on the controversy of human cloning. Lots of people have many fears over if we should continue this form of study, whereas others think that this technology should be pushed forward with high hopes. However, no side should rule out the other, but instead, should compliment one another. Both arguments should be heard and acknowledged before any decision is made towards this new area of study. For example, many people think that their fears are unanswerable and should cause the absolute ban on cloning.
After reading the novel, The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, it was difficult to imagine how one could transform the novel into a satisfying film. How could one imitate such descriptive settings and emotions without the advantage of Paul Bowles' wording? Also the novel does not have the plot of a typical movie, even an action or love story, and the ending is not conclusive. Could actors today play the deep and complex characters as they are portrayed in the book? These were some of the complications I considered when deciding how I would produce the movie.
There is no doubt that the accomplishments made through technology are astonishing. Technology has made amazing impacts on everything from science in space to medical science to the devices we use every day that make our lives easier. People are living longer and better than ever before, but we can’t forget how to live without it. “Just because technology is there and makes something easier doesn’t mean we should rely on it so much that we can’t think for ourselves,” (Levinson).
Progression is a natural occurrence in human life as well as society. Natural curiosity, coupled with a desire for self improvement, has propelled mankind into the age of science and technology. As society progresses, so, too, does human life continue to advance and improve. Medical advances have allowed humans to overcome disease and illness, and ultimately prolog human life. For example, the success of stem cell research has granted doctors the resources to replace damaged cells and begin to repair severe injuries. The amount of scientific progress making its way into society is astounding. However, eventually the question emerges, how far should these advancements be allowed to continue? And at what point do humans bypass medical need to such advances and begin to strip themselves of their humanity? The question of how far humans should allow science to penetrate the natural makeup of humans is delicate, and not one that will result in an unanimous opinion. Yet, before humans can address this subject, they must question whether or not they have the right to alter nature to any extent.
The natural sciences aim to propel our world into the future with new technology and ideas while going back to the beginning to begin to understand our world. How can we progress if we do not understand where we came from? This is why scientists want to perform various experiments on animals and humans alike. Experiments of this kind have been altered, slowed down, or completely brought to a halt as a result of morality's involvement. Scientists are able to place tracking agents in developing human embryos i...