People of Tomorrow
From Dickinson College Wiki
Eugenics, Reprogenics and the People of Tomorrow
- Society today seems to be engulfed with improving their current situations in life and modeling themselves after others.
- But what would a specific person constitute as perfect? It could be a physical feature to make them more attractive, an indestructible body for dominating athletic events, or it could even be as subtle as making people see colors for the first time.
- Enhancements are starting off as a therapeutic device in order to help people with certain diseases, but as the American consumer is becoming more willing to pay for anything to help their image, it is only a matter of time before therapy turns to a necessity for the rich.
- Moral and ethical questions:
- 1. Why should we do it?
- 2. Is it worth it?
- 3. What are the risks involved for myself and others?
- Glasses, Contacts, Laser eye surgery, Infrared vision
- Some scientists seem driven by ego, Hollywood, and money which can lead to having the X-Men come off the screen and into your neighborhood.
- This can all be linked to a more modern form of eugenics, even though when eugenics was first formed it was more of a compulsory movement.
- For people considering enhancement of humans, there are four main points to consider:
- 1. Safety
- 2. Cheating
- 3. Hubris
- 4. Equality
- A newer branch of genetics, referred to as reprogenetics, is a science aimed at altering or improving the reproductive process.
- The advantages of investing in reprogenetics for some would include more interpretation of DNA and a higher reinsertion rate of embryos into the host mother.
- Some possible goals of reprogenetics would include a higher disease prevention rate, human enhancement and reproductive autonomy.
- Market eugenics is a case where insurance companies would put pressure on parents to create a healthier child so the insurance companies would not have to pay out more money for health care.
- This would lead to a homemade/consumer eugenics program where parents could preselect certain traits for their child and, if certain traits are not formed correctly, a more advanced form of selective abortion would take its place.
