Gattaca

Throughout history, people have discussed the nature of man and whether man is inherently good, evil, or something else. However, man has proven himself to be guided by his own internal conflicts, which lead him to make certain decisions that can be characterized as good or evil. Therefore, despite his intentions, man is neither good nor evil, but will make virtuous or malicious decisions based on his own personal experiences and emotions. In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene contributes to the trend of men being led by their emotions. Gene is a teenage boy attending high school at Devon. He is very intelligent, however he is also extremely insecure. As a result of his insecurities, Gene becomes frustrated and allows himself to be overcome by his self-hatred, which causes him to harm himself and act unreasonably insecure. Gene is not inherently evil, rather he becomes corrupt as a result of his insecurities which provoke confusion and vice.

C. Ben Mitchell, a professor of Moral Philosopher at the Union University, in his article, “On Human Bioenhancements” (200), argues against the use of human enhancement which has emerge questioning about, the principles of justice, and cultural complicity. Mitchell supports his argument by describing how this method is an unethical behavior by the medical community and how this new technology should not be implement anywhere in the future. His purpose is to persuade his readers not to support this new method which will have a negative effect within our society, and instead of helping our future generation it will destroy our human nature. The author’s audience likely consists of professors, college professors, parents, with some understanding

While USA is considered by many an example of democracy, and becaon of freedom, its history is littered with examples

This quote was shown in the opening of the movie Gattaca whose civilization is made of mostly genetically modified beings. Parents in this world will genetically modify their children to have the best traits they could possibly have. These people are known as valids. Valids get a high status and the best jobs whereas if an individual was born “naturally” and untouched, they are considered invalid. In a similar world, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley individuals are not born from parents but from jars. These jars are tampered with to have control over the development of the embryo. In this world, close relationships to anyone is looked down on. In both Gattaca and Brave New World, both societies wanted to achieve a perfect world but Gattaca’s definition of perfection is to achieve a world of genetically superior brings whereas in Brave New World it is to have a stable civilization.

As technology improves, so do human capabilities of altering nature, which in turn creates increased responsibility. This directly relates to genetic engineering, which is beginning to morph into a reality. There are advocates for both sides that convey their personal opinions about the hypothetical results, but neither is clearly superior since both arguments speculate upon an unknown future. Hungarian psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, outlines this topic in his essay “The Future of Happiness,” which focuses on the history of selective breeding and compares the goal of happiness with genetic engineering. Csikszentmihalyi alternates between viewpoints regarding genetic engineering but presents a perspective dominated by warning. Csikszentmihalyi’s presents a chronologically structured explanation of selective breeding with progressive rhetorical questions that balance his support between the validity of the scientific study of happiness and his trepidation regarding potential dangers of the use of genetic engineering for predetermined beneficial traits.

“Then a second realization broke as clearly and bleakly as dawn at the beach. Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies.” (24) Gene thinks this after going to the beach with Finny and ruining his grade because of the lack of studying due to his time spent having fun. This is just one example of how Gene thinks there's some sort of ongoing competition between themselves, causing Gene to be extremely jealous, self concerning and over analyzing about every situation instead of just enjoying the fun the two have as Finny does. Even though Gene acts like this he is still very friendly and a good person. At Devon, Leper is an outcast who Gene befriends again because no one else seems to understand him but gene. This shows how although Gene has swayed emotions, underneath all he is a good person who doesn't mind taking another friend even if it means he is viewed differently for being around Leper. Along with that after braking Finny’s leg and finding out Finny will never play sports again, Gene wishes he had been the one to break his leg. Further showing how at heart Gene is a good friend. Gene’s widespread personality lead to him acquiring a diverse description, including jealousy, self preservation, over analysing, but friendly

Conformity is gradually oppressing the world in which we live in. This ideal is prominently illustrated in the film Pleasantville which is directed, and produced by Gary Ross. Pleasantville is a great demonstration of the dangers of abiding by society’s expectations, and the freedoms that come with rebelling to these expectations and embracing change. Gary Ross uses several literary techniques such as; colour (symbolism), and character development to indicate the lack of creativity, and originality in society. Throughout the film, Ross illustrates how obstructive conformity can be to society, and how rewarding rebelling to societal norms can be for not only self growth, but societal advancement as well.

A common question arises in philosophy: are people born good or evil? Many believe that humans have an innate desire to exclude minorities and discriminate against people different from them. Although discriminatory trends are prevalent in society, who’s to say whether it is an inborn or an externally imposed tendency? In her short story “Brownies” ZZ Packer intersperses exposition to show that people are not inherently racist but become this way as a result of experience and communal self-reinforcement; as children lose their innocence, so too do they lose their tolerance. Racism is a learned attribute.

In the article All Animals Are Equal, written by Peter Singer addresses the inadequacies surrounding the rights of animals in the societies of today. Singer opens the article by presenting a scholarly parallels between the fight for gender equality, banishment of racism and the establishment of rights for “nonhumans.” In order to explain this constant set of inequalities that seem to riddle our society, Singer readily uses the term “speciesism”, which he acquired from a fellow animals rights advocator, Richard Ryder. Essentially, this term is defined by Singer as a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one's own species and against those of members of other species. Singer claims that if this idea of speciesism

Gattaca, in my opinion endorses and goes against society's will to use genetic analysis. To elaborate further, as stated in the previous paragraphs Gattaca seems to show genetic analysis as a way to make decisions about certain people's life choices. But it also shows how people can struggle in contradictory events involving genetic testing, as put into examples in the previous statements. Gattaca shows many times that genetic testing can be beneficial and has completely taken over society but at the same time provides many hardships like discrimination against certain ranks of

In our world, people who are born different from other people are almost always treated differently from those who are “normal”. Nearly every person that is treated differently is treated in a more negative way than they would be if they fit in with other people. This is a terrible and insensible trend that has caused years of suffering throughout human history. Because of unimportant and miniscule discrepancies, such as race, we have decided to put up walls between cultures and make ourselves narrow-minded and un-open to new ideas. The reality that discrimination is universal has lead to discrimination becoming a popular theme in literature and other forms of entertainment. Some pieces of literature that have this theme are; “The Scarlet

Our life experiences make our present, our values, our way of behaving and thinking. Although no one is perfect, we are prone to develop prejudice against those who are totally different from us.

Do you think our society would strive if we eliminated those with bad traits? What if we only accelerated the people who can make a living for themselves and not have to depend on others? This would make our country grow right? Well during this movement, that took place in the early 1900’s, these questions were analyzed and experimented. People like Francis Galton and Charles Darwin believed that taking the hereditary genes from strong, well minded, citizens would benefit the human race as a whole. Little did they know, they were slowly leading to the downfall of our nation.

Ethics and morality are the backbone of our society, taking different forms, whether it be religion, science, or other personal beliefs, it lays down a golden rule of what is and what isn’t acceptable. However, morality becomes difficult to apply to controversial topics, especially those such as pre-birth human enhancement and human reproductive cloning due to the fact that it applies to other humans. One of the most important topics that arise from discussing these issues is the Non Identity Problem. In order to try and provide reasoning for both pre-birth enhancement and human reproductive cloning, I will first explain what the Non Identity Issue is and its relation to genetics, then explain how it may affect one’s

Throughout the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley discusses a plethora of themes. She presents these themes through the characters and their actions. Some of these themes can spark some arguments and raise a few questions. One of these themes presented in Frankenstein is birth and creation and presents a significant topic in today’s world. Can man play the role of God?