This week’s topic dealt with Biotechnology and Art. Biotechnology has always generated a lot of scientific interest, but recently, public and moral debates have come to the forefront due to the groundbreaking research taking place. In his book, Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future, Gregory Stock states, “Never before have we had the power to manipulate human genetics to alter our biology in meaningful, predictable ways”. While his statement is correct, I believe there is danger in our future if man’s pursuit is not done carefully and with discretion. Much of the biotechnological research that could impact humans is performed on lab mice. As test specimen, lab mice are genetically engineered to adhere to specific tests.
In
Ellen Levy’s article, she stated “The decision to consider genetically
engineered animals as the equivalent of non-living ‘inventions’ determines
their treatment in life”. I believe that
the same mind set can be applied to the application of bioengineering
experiments on humans. We learned about
Orlan in lecture a couple of weeks ago, and she reappeared this week. She is a renowned French artist who voluntarily
undergoes public plastic surgery while reading poetry. In lecture this week, we learned that Orlan
wore a multicolored composite organic coat made from an assemblage of skin
pieces made in vitro in petri dishes in the lab.
Orlan’s motivations seem to be driven by her passion in art
which makes it hard to argue against these types of public displays. History has shown that while there is
exciting possibilities in the field of biotechnology, experimentation on the
human body has not always been voluntary.
In search of a superior human race, Adolf Hitler's regime orchestrated despicable
science experiments on those he deemed to be of an inferior race. Hitler reasoned that nature favored the “super
human race” and that he would be able to create that race through scientific
methods. Hollywood’s obsession of
biotechnology and science going too far played itself out in the Will Smith
movie, I Am Legend.
While the future of biotechnology and art might be
exciting. As a society, we need to
monitor the types of research we are pursuing, and we must consider the
implications they may have on our future.
SOURCES:
Stock, Gregory. “Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic
Future”. 2002
PTE – English. <http://english.pte.hu/index.php?p=search&act=search_detailed&tagek=open>.
Levy, Ellen. “Defining
Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications”.
Orlan: Symbiotica. 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/residents/orlan>.
I Am Legend (2007) – Official Movie Trailer. YouTube, 25 Oct
2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewpYq9rgg3w>.
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