Current reading: Enhancing Evolution (2007) by John Harris. I have written about this man before in this blog. And now that I am reading my old piece back, I still stick to what I stated there.
The book informs us of the obligation we humans have, to enhance the species by interfering with the lottery we call evolution. According to Harris, it doesn’t make any sense to still be subjected to the random evolution process without trying to improve on it by the many technological means we have at our disposal (or will still develop). And why shouldn’t we indeed? Logically or in principal, there is no valid reason whatsoever to refrain from engineering ourselves.
In a discussion with someone, not so long ago, I talked about this concept for a while. It became clear to me, that this person, like many others, was guided by bad information and ill advise in his absolute and stubborn rejection of genetic engineering, cloning and high-tech medical tampering with people. He was convinced that we humans were entitled to full protection against this “weird science”, which seemed to have “no other purpose than to build an augmented, better, AND THUS dangerous, new breed of man, that was to take our place in the world eventually”. And while we were at it, “all this technology in general was crap anyway…”
So I – thoughtful as I am and never too lazy to convince anyone of a good scientific insight – tried to bring across to this person that he was maybe talking from the wrong orifice whilst thinking with the smaller head in the nether-regions instead of with his brain. For instance, I argued, I couldn’t imagine that my opponent was still going on foot everywhere he went, including to his many far away destinations abroad, instead of using public transport or a comfortable car. And what about the book he was holding in his hand, was that not technology as well? Just imagine, that at the time of its invention, the art of printing and the printing press were considered such dangerous contraptions, that they were to be banned from existence for ever? Where would it have left us humans then?
And moreover, what if we are replaced by a better species in the long run? It happened to the Australopithecus, one of our direct fore-bearers, didn’t it? We can consider ourselves lucky that our primordial ancestors never managed to stop the species development. We wouldn’t have been here to discuss all these interesting topics if that had been the case.
I was lucky. I had just been reading these magnificent examples of counter arguments for the common ignorance in Harris’ book.
My opponent didn’t budge though. He was against any engineering of the species and that was it! And he couldn’t – quite frankly – understand why I was not against “making people with pigs-heads and bird legs in obscure laboratories on some murky island somewhere in the pacific”. Yes, I heard it right, there were rogue scientists, who were doing all this, “just to make creatures that could destroy us eventually. And how about cloning? Why was I not against that either? Why would anyone want to make a copy of himself, with the same thoughts, the same character and the same everything?”
It didn’t help to explain to this person, that I already have a clone of myself, a natural one. He even happened to know him, as my identical twin brother, with whom he had been cosily chatting a while ago. I even explained to my opponent that I have the same DNA as my brother, that together we constituted CSI Miami’s blind spot, and that we were two entirely different persons nevertheless. All to no avail. My opponent was convinced of one thing: human clones were zombie like creatures, who had EVERYTHING in common with their… clones. Even their thoughts, if they had any.
The zeal with which the position above was defended, made me refrain from using the Heisenberg Uncertainty argument, which prohibits the full identical duplication of the brains bio-electrical state altogether. This would be necessary of course, to duplicate the MIND. But it seemed impossible to bring the difference between BRAIN and MIND across, so I just let it go. Abstract science seemed to be lost to this person entirely.
To make just a tiny sidestep here: it is not for nothing that the Star Trek space vessels equipped with transporters, carry a “Heisenberg Compensator”. If it weren’t for this illusive device, tele-transportation would be impossible. It’s a pity, therefore, that the Heisenberg Compensator itself is most probably (notice the pun…) impossible too, and as such the primary reason why tele-transportation will never become reality.
Back to Harris. The book “Enhancing Evolution” comes warmly recommend, although for the seasoned sceptic and science adept like me, it is all “cut cake” as they say in the Netherlands. But I suspect that Harris didn’t write the book for the likes of me. I have another book of his, sitting on the stack “still to read”, for which the same could be said. It is the book “On Cloning” (2004). I have a hunch that it will not tell me much news, but it will serve nicely to provide me with solid arguments against the contemporary Luddites one comes across these days.
Fortunately, the modern Luddites are not the ones making the policies that govern us; unlike the Big Obama for that matter, who lifted the ban on Stem Cell research in the USA. Obama stated in the press that the ban had been “ill advised” and formed an obstacle in the development of medical and scientific advance in the USA. With one stroke of his pen, he brushed this Bush-era Born Again Christian screw-up right out of existence.
Harris is a vanguard in the ethical reconnaissance that is done on evolution enhancement and cloning at the moment. He gives a good counter balance to the rubbish the Vatican sends into the world on the subject. According to those robe wearing wizards, one has to make love in order to procreate. Now why in the hell would they think that? Are they experts on the subject all of a sudden? For all I know, cloning might turn out to be THE way to have these hopelessly obsolete churches filled up again. With cloned SHEEP, that is.
To do oneself a favour, one should get informed on the subject above. It saves one from the obvious embarrassment which goes with being clueless.
