Since many believe the notion that a higher power than man, "God," created mankind, it is assumed that this undertaking can only be performed by God, and therefore anyone else attempting such a task would be blaspheming his efforts. The Promethean myth challenges that the creation of humans can only be done through divine efforts. When Prometheus stole fire from Zeus, he was in fact, stealing knowledge from Zeus. Scientists have been performing Promethean feats since this myth began. The Prometheus myth proves that another being other than a God can recreate a living being, but the results may be different from the original created.
[...] The task of duplicating a simple organism is one thing, but duplicating a complex human is more involved and includes a certain level of moral responsibility. This moral responsibility is presented to us in Frankenstein, Rappaccini's Daughter and Blade Runner. The main problem with man “playing is that he often does not think beyond the initial act of creating; this requires a parent-like level of responsibility that a scientist is not committed to provide. Creating a human-like being involves becoming a parent figure to that creation. [...]
[...] When presented with the “apple of knowledge,” temptation is too great to resist and that curiosity was enough for Frankenstein to delve into his grand experiment without ever once questioning what moral dilemmas his work would pose. Frankenstein's pride exceeded any rationality he may have possessed. He believed he could usurp God by creating life, but instead he undertook the gruesome task of resurrecting a creature piecemeal. Yet, even in all Frankenstein's negligence, his creation found a way to become more human than Frankenstein could have imagined. [...]
[...] It was unfair to expect the replicants to be perfect; man is naturally flawed by design. Dr. Tyrell though he could do better than man's original creator and design a being “more human than a human.” Tyrell's replicants became violent murderers that were labeled unfit to live. The truth was that the replicants tire of being oppressed in their role as slaves and become more aware of their human-like feelings. They begin asking the age-old question: Who am Where do I come from? [...]
[...] It threatens to sell short the true possibilities of human flourishing The question for the human enhancers and the post-human futurists is this: what knowledge of the good do you have that entitles you to gamble the human future on your hunches that these proposed alterations will in fact produce improvement? It is a question that science and technology simply cannot provide (Kass, A More Perfect Human. Part Although Dr. Kass makes a valid point that scientists should exercise caution when pushing the boundaries of exploratory science, he does not make allowances for the fact that pursuing lofty goals in science has enabled humankind to progress in development and has ensured continued survival of the species. [...]
[...] It is unquestionable that man is not omniscient and science does not have all the answers to man's flawed limitations. A well known molecular biologist who was part of the genetic revolution of the 60s and 70s, Robert Sinsheimer, was enthusiastic when he described a new eugenics program, the first time in all time a living creature understands its origins and can undertake to design its future can be the agent of transition to a wholly new path of evolution” (www.humanlife.net). [...]
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