As Hideo Kojima says, “Genetic engineering is a result of science advancement, so I don’t think that in itself is bad. If used wisely, genetics can be beneficial, but they can be abused, too. ” Genetic Engineering is a new type of science which allows the editing of genes. The author of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, thought of ideas such as this long before the technology became close to how it is in the novel. This will dramatically affect life for the human race. In Brave New World, alcohol, not genetic engineering, led to harming the intellect of the populace as genetic engineering helped society in the novel by eliminating ost diseases.
Opponents of genetic engineering argue that it is immoral and can be used for evil, but more realistically, genetic engineering will help society by curing diseases, increasing life expectancy, and improving the level of life overall for many. Despite the ability to use genetic engineering for forcing today’s standards of beauty, genetic engineering can help to prevent and stop a multitude of genetic disorders and diseases. Genetic engineering, is used to alter the genes of flora and fauna. It has numerous uses and is already being used today.
Bananas and dogs are some examples of genetic alterations. Genetic engineering is used to effect it at the source. There have been recent breakthroughs with the future of genetics, CRISPR, otherwise known as cas9. It is used to edit specific parts of genes. It allows more specific and better and cheaper alterations to genes compared to previous methods. Genetic Engineering is already being used for “improving bacterial strains used in dairy products, making new animals for research, and experimenting with knocking out disease-inducing mutations in human genes,” (Jasanoff).
Some people say it is morally wrong and will always harm society, but it is already eing used in a plethora of ways and it can prevent many diseases. Stopping research will worsen, not improve effects of this technology. This causes the research to be done by biased parties. The wrong people will use the technology malevolently. As Craig Venter states, “The question is not if, but when. ” This is what causes science to create negative effects, not positive ones. Banning an idea does not and cannot work. It is similar to the idea of banning thinking.
Someone will come along and take advantage of bans and use them for their own personal gain instead of using ideas to help others. Genetic engineering is a great idea, and should be used to help the world. If it can be proven with concrete evidence that genetic engineering’s disadvantages vastly outweigh the advantages, then it should be stopped. But before doing so, one must understand genetic engineering along with being able to show how it harms those who need genetic engineering first. The advantages of using the technology, it can help to cures diseases, mental disorders, and genetic defects.
Technology is always changing, and “new genetic technology offers the prospect of humanity taking control of the direction of its own volution,” (Jasanoff), allowing humanity to better understand life, and how to better survive the universe. Though some say it would harm a child’s psyche by altering their genes, it would in fact help. A person’s emotions are not defined by one thing, but in fact “Genes and upbringing [have] worked together to inspire excellence,” (Green). Changing genes can help children from dealing with many horrible diseases.
Blaming genetic engineering for a child’s emotions “in that case wouldn’t be genetics, but bad parenting,”(Green). It is the combination of environment, parenting, and genes that result in a child being he way they are. Helping a child with a disease they cannot control would help them in a society in which they are told is perfect, but is not. In the novel, Brave New World, like in today’s society, genetic engineering is used to remove imperfections of people. In the novel, the hatchery could scan “eggs which it contained for abnormalities,” (Huxley 5).
Genetic Engineering can be used in both societies to find and cure diseases in genetics. Like imperfection, disease in not common in society. In order to allow children to understand death and diseases in the novel, “they’re being death-conditioned” (Huxley 203). This shows the power in which genetic engineering, by removing disease and lengthening life spans and vastly improving the standard of life. The society of the Brave New World used genetic engineering to pacify and to make the populace stupider. In Brave New World, they used “the liquor in which the detached eggs and ripened eggs were kept” (Huxley 5).
In the real world, genetic engineering would be able to, “work for other genetic disorders caused by a single mutant allele” (New). This could be used to prevent a plethora of diseases, and help countless lives. Science is similar to most things, as it can be sed to help or harm. While some do say it can be used for bad, it also can be used to help. How genetic engineering while affect the world is determined by who uses it, and for what ends. If one country bans an idea, it is not banned everywhere, and can never be forced to stop.
One can not stop ideas, but ideas can be used at least to learn from. “Henry Miller, who argues that the Summit was an unnecessary impediment to the progress of the science and its ultimate use to treat human disease. ” (Jasanoff), as it will improve a person’s length of life. As no one can predict the future, nothing is guaranteed. Using enetic engineering can help many people, and prevent many diseases from the devastating effects they have. Some may say, it is not proven to work with humans all of the time, but that should not mean not trying in order to find out.
If scientists like Einstein, Hawking, and Newton said their ideas are not proven so don’t look into it, we would be significantly less technically able as we are today. Science is not concrete, and it never will be, and that is the exact reason to try. Science is like the idea of perfection. Though both are impossible in working completely, it does not mean that society should give up on those ideas. Society should see it as a challenge that they set for themselves to strive for a better future, not be alright with the status quo. Genetic engineering is not used exclusively used for people.
It can be used to help environments and food shortages. “Fisheries scientists have repeatedly warned us that if we do not change our commercial fisheries practices, we will run out of the vast majority of the commercial species by the middle of this century,” (Zohar). Using genetic engineering can be used to help prevent a major catastrophe in losing a large source of food and a large environment. Current methods, such as “selective reeding and domestication, where we manipulate many genes over generations without knowing exactly what is altered. (Zohar)
This can be used to help both humanity by providing a better source of food and the species the genetic engineering by releasing some over time into the wild to help stabilize the environments of the areas in which many species of flaura and fauna have been dying due to humanity’s overfishing and pollution. Like Roger Spottiswoode says, “I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me. ” Just because something is new doesn’t always ean it must be shunned or stopped.
Genetic engineering, if done properly, can help to improve living for everyone. In order to make sure it helps, not harms society, genetic engineering must be allowed to be done with the proper people. Preventing research doesn’t mean it won’t occur. Genetic engineering can help to stop some diseases, help the environment, and assist in food shortages. Attempting to stop genetic engineering is cruel to those who we could help with this technology. Genetic engineering can revolutionize the world today which would improve the length and quality of lives for many.
