Idea of progress - Genetic selection

IDEA of Progress

The Idea of progress is the theory that the different advances in technology, science, and social organization can produce an improvement in the human condition. That is, people can become happier in terms of quality of life (social progress) through economic development (modernization), and the application of science and technology (scientific progress). Progress implies change and evolution and throughout history most of the advances have been positive. However, the rhythm of progress seems to have accelerated over the last few decades and the technological breakthroughs and scientific developments are causing some people to question this progress.

What effect do these “advances” have on our society? Do they always have a positive effect on the way we live?

Medical advances now make it possible to choose your baby, it is the genetic selection which has advantages but also disadvantages.

This genetic selection has some advantages: it offers the possibility of choosing the gender of one’s future child by genetic screening and of discarding those who might have genetic diseases. The future child would have no serious illness that he would have to endure all his life, he could have a life with work and friends. This is what the parents want to do with their future child in a document that we studied from "Welcome to Gattaca". The parents want the child to be a boy, without diseases, with muscular and mathematical abilities. But this genetic engineering is possible only for a certain fee. Thus, the more money you spend, the more extra features and abilities you get for your future baby. Now we will speak about its disadvantages.

What may seem at first like an advantage could actually turn out to be a drawback. Indeed, genetic screening implies that a baby could be selected according to specific physical criteria such as being tall, strong, with blue eyes and blond hair. Even though most people want the same things for their children, whether it be looks or qualities, eventually all the children would look the same and be the same.  In class, we studied a satirical image where we see five men on a treadmill: four are tall, beautiful, strong with a beautiful smile, they have black curly hair, they are the stereotype of the perfect man. And in the midst of these four-perfect men, there is a small and weak man, that one is thrown into the garbage. This image reveals the genetic selection that society uses so that everyone is flawless. This marginalization of human beings is a major disadvantage.  This can cause marginalization of the weak, division and homogenization of society. Moreover, this technological advance could be used for bad reasons, like creating a clone army. Choosing what the child will look like is inappropriate, nature must take its course. This can also pose religious problems. We have seen in the classroom a document about an entrepreneur who uses this genetic selection. The director, while invested in the science of his project, does not seem to care about the humanity of the people they are creating in the lab. He is more interested in its economic values. For him there is only the benefit that counts, and this is very dangerous because it could lead to the destruction of the human being, and a control of the population.

To conclude, these technological advances may have a real advantage for the human being like eradicating diseases, but nature must also play its part. On the contrary, they can also divide society and tear humans apart. The children who were conceived “naturally” or whose parents were not able to afford extra features might feel apart, or worse, be discriminated against. According to the geneticists, these procedures are not foolproof so what happens when it goes wrong? Finally, do we want to become Ken and Barbie dolls with super brains?

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