Anglais: l'idée de progrès

Anglais : Idea of Progress

Today I'm going to talk about the idea of progress.To begin with, I'd like to state the definition of progress. The idea of progress basically consists in believing that the world can become better in terms of science, technology, and quality of life. However, sometimes progress causes more problems than it solves. We may wonder : Should we fear progress?Consequently, we are going to weigh the positive and negative aspects of progress in science, medicine and new technologies.

Cloning is the production of genetically identical organisms. From a medical point of view it would be a great step forward for the human condition.This could be used to counter genetic diseases - having a source of genetically identical body parts for transplant patients in order to save their lives. This also would provide the opportunity for sterile couples to have babies. This shows that science's progress can correct nature’s mistakes and improve the human condition but there is also progress in new technologies.

Cameras have the ability to reveal someone's identity which can be beneficial when used in the correct way. Video surveillance cameras are beneficial in public places as it means people are less likely to commit a criminal act as there is a high probability that they will be caught. Having cameras in public places makes people feel safe.

This shows that new technologies' progress has helped improve our daily. We also talked about another new technology : Internet and the cell phones . In today's world, with the development of technology, Information and Communications Technology have inevitably become an important element in our lives because of it being quick and easy to use. People have become busy in spite of their jobs, so they want to reach information in the easiest way and to keep in touch with their family members and their friends.

New technologies in general have improved our living conditions nevertheless, yet science's progress also raises some issues.

From an ethical point of view, cloning raises problems because destroying embryos and using them only for the purpose of research would be considered unethical. Moreover, cloning could become a real market and would devalue children, treating them as commodities. There also are uncertain genetic consequences: many of the early animal clones had clinical problems derived from genetic effects. A lot of people worry that cloned people would be regarded as slaves or second class citizens with no civil rights ,since they are just copies. I find this reasoning absolutely ridiculous, since a person is a person despite their genetic source and regardless as to whether or not they are artificially created. In class we debated over the subject of genetically designed babies. We saw that choosing the gender or eye color are already possible according to scientists. This would cause beauty standards as well as discrimination to increase. In the movie “Welcome to Gattaca”, people that weren't genetically engineered were considered inferior hence their label being “invalid”.

As we saw, progress can bring breakthroughs but also threats , that's why science should paticularly be careful about the use they make with the incoming discoveries. According to me, the assets

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