HUMAN PERFECTION IN A GENETICALLY FLAWLESS WORLD

— William Shakespeare, The Tempest, quoted by Aldous Huxley

With technology exponentially growing, and the insatiable hunger for discovery and knowledge, the actual nature of human beings is changing. Stories of stem-cell research, human-mouse embryo experiments and genetically engineered animals for consumption flood technology newspapers. Building electronic devices from single atoms, and playing around with DNA leads scientist down the inevitable path to new types of human life forms – but is that a path to destruction or peace? Eliminating diseases and viruses is a pro of this type of experimentation, but making human bodies better leads to longetivity as well. Delaying the aging process is a conceivable, and perhaps eminent, concept for the near future, but that may well be a bad thing. Huxley batted around the concept of human Gods creating the world they deemed fit, under their rules, and it seems we aren’t far from such a Brave New World. And perhaps Dr. Gray who has transplanted the first self-contained heart and sustained life is really another Dr. Frankenstein. These new drugs for longetivity that will perhaps be available for

In an era where man can make man how he pleases, brings us to a questions of such an impact on society, both in the real world, as it was a concern for Huxley in his fictional world. “The growing power of molecular genetics confronts us with future prospects of being able to change the nature of our species” (Silver, Remaking Eden, 1997, pg 10). While Huxley fears that society will use this genetic engineering technology to better society, Silver explains that the real fear is parents using this Gattaca scenario to enhance the lives of their children. And certainly in Brave New World where children don’t know of birth, or parents, even the beauty of loving and natural emotions, the breath of science has engulfed the latter. Concerning death, Huxley’s society of laboratory-born humans grimaced in horror at the sight of Linda, The Savage’s mother. Sick and old in a bed, they curiously marveled at the lines around her eyes, and sagging skin – physical onsets of aging and eventually, death. Huxley’s society eliminates sickness with Soma and eliminates flaws with manipulated genes. Huxley’s society, the army of perfected children gazing at aging like a dreamed nightmare, is becoming more analogous to ours – both striving for perfection, killing the race we know slowly, making us less human. The ‘Ford’ creator of Brave New World, like the scientists of today, “did a great deal to shift the emphasis from truth and beauty to comfort and happiness” (Huxley, Brave New World, 1969, pg 228). Without knowing the emotions of joy and happiness, of poetry and love, the citizens in Huxley’s world were deprived, sacrificing all that beauty for a genetically engineered world. A world, they thought, that was perfect, man-made to perfection and purposefulness. The worry in today’s world is exactly that.

the elite wealth, and cell and tissue repairs made possible by the manipulation of human DNA will either lead us into a better world, or one of no existence. Perfect health and perfect humans will either be reminiscent of a monsterish nightmare or a drug-induced ‘dream’ world. Delaying aging may not be as fantastical as it seems, and Huxley may have been right in warning of the future of genetic engineering.

Some topics in this essay:
Brave World, Posthuman Future, Dr Frankenstein, Remaking Eden, Biotechnics Society, Aldous Huxley, Machine Nigel, Green Machines, Mary Shelley, Pandora’s Box, brave world, genetic engineering, future 2003 pg, green machines, fukuyama posthuman, genetically engineered, posthuman future, 2003 pg, huxley’s world, posthuman future 2003, fukuyama posthuman future, future 2003, krimsky biotechnics society, remaking eden, biotechnics society 1991,