mackenzie's post #3- A BRAVE NEW WORLD?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/business/28clone.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin

As our minds continue to expand, so too does our capacity for scientific inquiry. The very basis on which our “Brave New World” is made possible is such discovery. The only questions to consider in the process of technological development are the ethical implications. When does our quest for ground breaking advancement cross our integrity?

Lori B. Gruen, an associate professor of philosophy at Wesleyan University, notes in the New York Times the growing interest in today’s cloning technology as “cloning grows more efficient and therefore less expensive, and its popularity expands.” Just as the advent of the Model-T in Huxley’s Brave New World captured the attention and sparked excitement of the dystopian society, the beginning of what we are learning about cloning technologies has become an important focus for many.

“Indeed,” continues Gruen, “ethical issues like the treatment of animals used for cloning will need to be addressed systematically.” If such methods were to resemble those of Huxley’s fictional society, this treatment would be comparable to the Bokanovsky process. However, as a result of the level of respect given to the individual, our society recognizes the “legitimate ethical worries that people are expressing,” Gruen said. Furthermore, because of the many ethical dilemmas associated with reproductive cloning, controversy will continue to surround the topic for fear of what society might incur as a result of such practices. To ignore these concerns would either prove to be tremendously brave, in the name of science, or terribly foolish for human civilization.