As William Penn says in his book, Some Fruits of Solitude, in Reflections and Maxims Relating to the Conduct of Human Life, “Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children. ” This statement is true, to a point. While eugenical artificial selection could in fact ‘breed’ an ideal human being, as is done with horses and dogs, there is a level of eugenics that has gone too far. During WWII, Adolf Hitler took the stance of eugenics as an innovative idea that was for the greater good.
However, his proposal of eugenics was eliminating all other choices of humans other than his ideal image – the Aryan race. The murder of over 11 million people can hardly be compared with propagation, but they both derive from the same idea: eugenics. Eugenics is only one of the many methods that scientists are meddling with in order to design an ideal human being. Creating a flawless human being has been a scientific prerogative, and while there are some discrepancies, science is showing progress.
Alongside eugenics, cybernetic organisms are another option for creating a perfect human being.
Cybernetic organisms are comprised of synthetic and organic parts. Humans that have dysfunctional body parts are able to replace them with mechanical alternatives. Surrogate parts enable humans to be far more efficient. A commonly replaced organ is the heart, and scientists should soon be able to replace other vital internal organs. Scientific exploration of new areas is one of the many benefits made available by cybernetic technology. Space travel without a breathing apparatus could be made possible if the necessary organs were substitute.
Replacement lungs could allow humans to function without oxygen. If oxygen was provided within the body, then humans would be able to easily explore space, as well as the depths of the ocean. With cybernetic organisms at the helm, a century’s progress, due to exponential growth of technology, can be accomplished in an hour. Although more efficient than humans, cybernetic organisms can also be considered a threat to humanity. Technology is not always dependable. Artificial hearts fail, cellular phones break, and planes crash. In 1993, 7 people died in a plane crash due to engine failures.
Not only is technology not one hundred percent reliable, but if humans are eventually comprised completely of artificial parts, then emotion will no longer remain. As exemplified in Anthem, a society without emotion is detrimental. The citizens of Anthem believe that they know everything that there is to know, but they are mistaken. In order to ensure equality, the idea of love was removed, and along with it, family, spirituality and opinion. If machines become the main factor in this world, it is possible that Anthem could be the future.
The World Council defines and enforces the law, so that all are the same and perfect by Anthem’s standards. Cybernetic organisms can be manipulated by humans to be perfect, or without flaw, but possible consequences are risky. With cybernetic organisms as the extreme in creating the perfect human being, genetic modification for health purposes is a less drastic measure. With technology today, cures to diseases, such as Anthrax and H1N1, are being discovered at a rapid pace. If one can inject the vaccine of all known diseases into embryos until all diseases are eradicated, everyone would be healthy, and in a sense, perfect.
Brave New World is a society of perfect health. All citizens are immunized at decantation and are able to live a life free of disease and infection. Unfortunately, the vaccines to every disease have not yet been discovered, but with the exponential growth of technological advances, there is a probable chance. Using genetic modifications to prevent diseases is an idealized goal, but it has a major risk factor – mutations. DNA is a complicated system, and the slightest mistake could cause a major bodily malfunction. It would take extensive scientific research and application to consider attempting to alter a human’s genes.
Science has made many advances, but oftentimes the major ones have come back with unintended consequences that were never before thought significant. The extensive use of oil, coal and natural gas demonstrate that perfectly. It was commonly known that the burning of these natural resources releases gasses into the air, but it was not thought of as important. Global warming was considered a hoax, and little was done to preserve the earth’s delicate ecosystem. If tampering with genetics is disregarded as insignificant, then drastic outcomes could occur, such as unheard of deformities, or permanent brain damage.
Genetic modification in this sense would be detrimental to society. A ‘perfect’ human being is hard to define, but standards can easily be changed over time with both genetic modification and cybernetic organisms. There are positives and negatives to both options, but technology is changing rapidly, and circumstances adapt with it. Although scientists have not yet created a prototype for an ideal human, ideas are being formulated. The ideas, however, of what defines a perfect person are constantly changing. Until idealization has had its parameters defined, scientists will continue to struggle to achieve this goal.
