Thursday, August 25, 2011

Can Science Be Ethical? (BNW)

A huge correlation between Dyson's article, Brave New World, and Harrison Bergeron is obviously the use of technology and the science behind it. Like everything else in the world the use of science has both positive and negative aspects. Determining which outweighs the other however, is entitled to one's own opinion.


This article illustrates the evolution of and humans' increased reliance on technology. This is clearly shown in Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron given the fact that the whole story takes place in front of the TV. In reference to Brave New World, Dyson stated that with such software available (Ex: CAD-CAM) the next step will be using it to design our own babies. That is exactly what the workers at the Hatchery and Conditioning center accomplished. It is also mentioned in the article that "the idea of improving the human race by artificial means is widely condemned" (as if we were chickens on steroids).


The sentence, "Science also gives warnings of doom and promises of hope" is a hypocritical statement that is represented in both stories. For example, the mass production of human beings promises hopes of a more efficient future by conditioning them to certain jobs. It's warnings of doom became clear when the conformed citizens began to fall in love and birth babies (which is unorthodox). In Harrison Bergeron, the introduction of handicaps promised the hopes of equality (physically & mentally). Harrison Bergeron, himself, was a warning of doom. This became pretty obvious when he defied the laws and announced himself as emperor. Dyson also says that, "Understanding will then lead to new technologies that offer hope of preventing tragedies and ameliorating human condition." It goes back to his hypocritical statement because in order to fix what science has done, more science has to be created ("Ethical progress is the only cure for the damage done by scientific progress"). 

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