Human genetic engineering technology is more advanced in the contemporary world, attracting numerous people support human enhancement. According to the Children's Medical Research Institute and The Children's Hospital at Westmead (2012), ‘over 1800 gene therapy clinical trials have been completed, are ongoing or have been approved worldwide’, which shown the increased significance of human engineering in the society.
In accordance with the Oxford Dictionary (2006), human genetic engineering refers to the science of changing the way of a human by altering the information in its genes. Human genetic engineering can be divided into two categories, including genetic therapy (pathological purpose) and genetic enhancement (non pathological purpose), both make oneself better by optimizing attributes or capabilities (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2006). It can also be treated as remedy a loss of normal human function that may prevent or reduce a person’s ability to function independently (Mayes, 2012).
I come to agree that seeking enhancement is not an appropriate method to improve human well-being. Sometimes, supporters seems a bit overstate the merits of human enhancement and overlook the drawbacks and side effects of it. I believe that there are real problems for seeking enhancement even though achievement is acquired for what we supposed not to be acquired.
Although the technological development of human engineering is increasingly mature, several concerns and problems are yet to be overcame. In The Case against Perfection: ethics in the age of genetic engineering, Sandel (2009) suggested that the desire of mastery is negative, which alter humility, responsibility and solidarity, the three key features of our moral la...
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...Welfare‐Oriented Patterns of Distribution. Bioethics, 26(6), 296-304.
Gene therapy clinical trials worldwide to 2012 - ... [J Gene Med. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23355455
Genetic Enhancement (2006). The National Human Genome Research Institute (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.genome.gov/10004767
Mayes, S. (2012). Genetic Enhancement: Definitions, Methodologies, and the Effect of Parental Attitudes. Penn Bioethics Journal, 8(2).
McKean, E. (Ed.). (2005). The new oxford American dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Michael J. Sandel (2009). The Case against Perfection: ethics in the age of genetic engineering, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Chapter 5 (pp. 85-100)
Turnbull, J., Bull, V., & Phillips, P. (2006). Oxford wordpower dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The ethics behind genetic engineering have been discussed and argued for years now. Some arguing points often include competitive advantages, playing God, and the polarization of society, but Sandel takes a different approach in explaining society’s “unease” with the morality of genetic engineering. Broadcasted through several examples throughout the book, Sandel explains that genetic engineering is immoral because it takes away what makes us human and makes us something else. He states that by taking control of our genetic makeup, or the makeup of our progeny, we lose our human dignity and humility. Our hunger for control will lead to the loss of appreciation for natural gifts, whether they are certain talents, inherited from the genetic lottery, or the gift of life itself.
With the progression of modern biotechnology, there is much contentious debate affecting ongoing developmental affairs. Controversy aligns itself with cautious thoughts on the appropriate amount of enhancement that can be applied before it undermines the “gifted character of human power and achievement (Sandel).” Michael Sandel, author of The Case Against Perfection argues through political discourse that the passion to master all of the science dominion through the use of such technology is largely flawed by our interpretations of perfection.
In conclusion, his contention about genetic enhancement is shameless because it falsely forms individuals' lives, regularly guiding their fates in bearings that they would not uninhibitedly pick. In this manner, in spite of having an impediment in his case, it speaks to a major infringement of their rights as individuals. In my opinion, Sandel’s claim is plausible that the world with genetic engineering will contain imbalances and inequalities. Hence, it is immoral to accept genetic engineering.
In The Case Against Perfection, Sandel warns us of the dangers that genetic engineering, steroids, and hormones poses to society and the natural order. According to Sandel, this type of control, especially in non-medical settings, violates a respect for life that should be ingrained in all of us. Life is something difficult to predict, something that shouldn’t bend to our every single will and desire. Genetic engineering, and the like, presents an egregious violation of this respect. According to Sandel, this violation serves only to reverse the human march of progress. Sandel weaves a well-balanced argument in his book. The issue of eugenic technology is most definitely not black or white. According to him, the aspects of modification can be applied selectively, so long as it doesn’t violate the respect for life society should hold closely.
Gardner, William. “Can Human Genetic Enhancement be Prohibited” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 20.1 (February 1995): 65-85.
Kevles, Daniel J. and Leroy Hood. "Will the Human Genome Project Lead to Abuses In Genetic Engineering?" Taking Sides. Ed. Thomas A. Easton. Guilford, Connecticut: Dushkin Publishing Group Inc., 1995. 342-357.
Savulescu, Julian. “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Human Beings.” Readings in the Philosophy of Technology. Ed. David Kaplan. 2nd ed. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield, 2009. 417-430.
Science and technology are rapidly advancing everyday; in some ways for the better, and in some, for worse. One extremely controversial advance is genetic engineering. As this technology has high potential to do great things, I believe the power genetic engineering is growing out of control. Although society wants to see this concept used to fight disease and illness, enhance people 's lives, and make agriculture more sustainable, there needs to be a point where a line is drawn.
There is always debate over human genetic engineering. Disputes over human genetic engineering concern the means for achieving assumed ends, rather than being a healthy discussion about the ends themselves. This book not only explores how decisions about the ethics of human genetic engineering are made, but also shows how the structure of the debate has led to the technological choices we now face.
Wheale, Peter R. and Ruth M. McNally. Genetic Engineering: Catastrophe or Utopia? St. Martin's Press, NY; 1988.
"The aim is to decrease the fear of a brave new world and to encourage people to be more proactive about their health. It [Gene therapy] will help humans become better physically and even mentally and extend human life. It is the future” (Hulbert). Dr. Hulbert, a genetic engineer, couldn’t be anymore right; more time, money, and research needs to be put into gene therapy and genetic engineering, since it can cure certain illness and diseases that are incurable with modern medicine, has fewer side-effects than conventional drugs or surgery, and allows humans to be stronger physically and mentally at birth. Gene therapy or genetic engineering is the development and application of scientific methods, procedures, and technologies that permit direct manipulation of genetic material in order to alter the hereditary traits of a cell, organism, or population (NIH). It essentially means that we can change DNA to make an organism better. Genetic engineering is used with animals and plants every day; for example with genetic...
We are closer that humanity ever has been to being able to intentionally manipulate DNA and thereby being capable of creating organisms that can dramatically improve our lives and wellbeing as a species. However, genetic engineering has to be appropriately regulated, taking into consideration ethical issues such as human rights, the dignity of the individual, harmful consequences and issues of morality followed by them. This paper will try to expand upon various views on genetic engineering and will pay homage to my background writing engineering research papers to consider the ethics of genetic engineering-the designer baby, cloning, how it relates to ethics in engineering generally, and the responsibilities of engineers and the concerns of
Although humans have altered the genomes of species for thousands of years through artificial selection and other non-scientific means, the field of genetic engineering as we now know it did not begin until 1944 when DNA was first identified as the carrier of genetic information by Oswald Avery Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty (Stem Cell Research). In the following decades two more important discoveries occurred, first the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, by Watson and Crick, and next the 1973 discovery by Cohen and Boyer of a recombinant DNA technique which allowed the successful transfer of DNA into another organism. A year later Rudolf Jaenisch created the world’s first transgenic animal by introducing foreign DNA into a mouse embryo, an experiment that would set the stage for modern genetic engineering (Stem Cell Research). The commercialization of genetic engineering began largely in 1976 wh...
Scientists and the general population favor genetic engineering because of the effects it has for the future generation; the advanced technology has helped our society to freely perform any improvements. Genetic engineering is currently an effective yet dangerous way to make this statement tangible. Though it may sound easy and harmless to change one’s genetic code, the conflicts do not only involve the scientific possibilities but also the human morals and ethics. When the scientists first used mice to practice this experiment, they “improved learning and memory” but showed an “increased sensitivity to pain.” The experiment has proven that while the result are favorable, there is a low percentage of success rate. Therefore, scientists have concluded that the resources they currently own will not allow an approval from the society to continually code new genes. While coding a new set of genes for people may be a benefitting idea, some people oppose this idea.
Genetic engineering seems decades away, but through modern technology, it has recently entered the human realm. Some believe genetic engineering will bring forth great advancements in the human brain and body, but instead some believe one mistake creates a world where every child will be genetically engineered just to keep up with the rest of society. Many times, the media plays a very strong role in the image of this issue, and masks the true identity of this social injustice. However, what forms of genetic engineering can be done in humans today? What is in store for the future? What are the risks and what could be the possible benefits? Currently gene therapy is one of the only ways to change the genetic makeup of an animal or human. Also,