How Far is Too Far?

Throughout the modern world today science, technology, and humans are all changing simultaneously. With these frequent advancements in technology, we see the ethics in the scientific world constantly changing. Ethics is the idea of

considering value, and its human morality by defining concepts such as the difference between right and wrong. In our society, there are many books and stories that offer up different ethical beliefs, for example, books like The Giver, 1984, and in this case, Frankenstein.

The book Frankenstein discusses ethics as it relates to the relationship between Victor Frankenstein and the monster. Mary Shelley, the author of the book Frankenstein, convey’s her belief that man should not tamper science and try to play “god”. The major question throughout the novel is: at what cost? In the story, Frankenstein creates this “monster” and as his relationship with this “monster” continues a common question that the reader must ask themselves is at what point does Frankenstein’s creation go too far, and break boundaries that should not be allowed to be broken. The monster in Frankenstein shows images invading nature. There is this idea that a non-living being will begin to replace the living.

As readers, we think of ethics when we see Frankenstein debating within himself, whether or not to create a companion for the monster. Although the monster later leaves in a rage, Frankenstein’s ongoing debate is similar to ethical debates scientists have today. Some common ethical debates that we see today in science, technology, and in humans is privacy through social media, bionics, and driverless cars. We see in all these debates the idea of how inclusive these new technologies and findings should be with our society today.

If we take the topic of bionics into consideration. Scientists are having the same struggles today as Frankenstein had in his novel. They have to consider how far they can take bionics before they start invading nature and natural life. More recent inventions consist of bionic eyes, bionic body parts, and exoskeletons. These inventions are for the purpose to improve the human body. There are even plans and tests going into making bionic chips that can store information. With these chips and bionics, a person could enhance themselves to the point where they could be considered “superhuman”. As wonderful and cool as that may sound a worry for scientists and ethicists is the negatives that may stem from these new inventions. The question commonly asked is: at what point will this new technology start to break boundaries that should not be broken by humans?

All in all, I agree with Shelley’s idea that nature should be allowed to continue its path without being destroyed by mankind. Although, I do understand the argument that if something is found or if something is created by man it should be allowed to be used because man found it through their own ways naturally. There is the argument that this technology can improve societies and help impoverished communities. The idea of technological advancement is that over time people’s lives will improve because of the increase in resources. My thoughts are that, while new technology can make life easier, some technology can in fact hurt us especially when we look into the idea of weapons manufacturing. Throughout our history weapons have become more and more destructive. I believe that it is important to have a good balance between technology and nature. It is difficult to see what’s in store for the future and where the advancement of technology will lead us, but as new inventions arise new policies will have to be set in place to control them so that we answer the question, “How far is too far?”.

Credit

1. Manu S. Mannoor, Ziwen Jiang, Teena James, Yong Lin Kong, Karen A. Malatesta, Winston O. Soboyejo, Naveen Verma, David H. Gracias, and Michael C. McAlpine Nano Letters 2013 13 (6), 2634-2639 DOI: 10.1021/nl4007744
2. “Ethic.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic. 
3. Lin, Patrick. “More Than Human? The Ethics of Biologically Enhancing Soldiers.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 Feb. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/more-than-human-the-ethics-of-biologically-enhancing-soldiers/253217/. 
4. “When Man Meets Metal: Rise of the Transhumans.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29 Oct. 2017, www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/29/transhuman-bodyhacking-transspecies-cyborg.