Have you seen the latest X-Men movie? If you have, or if you’re a fan, you should check out this article from Emory University. Ethics professor Paul Wolpe argues that given today’s advancement in biotechnology, creating X-Men-like human being is entirely plausible. What holds us back from using these technologies are the ethical questions and pragmatic concerns behind them. What do you think?
The debut of the movie “X-Men: First Class” this summer is one more chapter in America’s ongoing fascination not only with science fiction, but with the ethical issues that result from humankind’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, says Paul Wolpe, director of Emory’s Center for Ethics and an expert on bioethical issues.
“’X-Men’ is the story of a reviled minority,” says Wolpe, in this case, a minority with genetic mutations that give them extraordinary powers. Of course, genetically, X-Men make no sense, he adds. There’s no way that even dramatic genetic mutation would result in a normal human being giving birth to a human being with wings.
“On the other hand, X-Men are completely plausible as biotechnological developments, and we’re already developing some of the kinds of powers that the X-Men illustrate,” Wolpe says. “There are genetic engineering possibilities for human beings that would increase things like memory, perhaps attention, and maybe even strength, not to super-human levels, but perhaps to mimic the best achievements of the species.”
And although “we still don’t know how to create muscles that exceed the muscles of the strongest creatures on earth,” says Wolpe, “it’s when you combine natural ability with technology that you can talk about truly extraordinary types of powers.”
Check out the whole article here, or just watch the interview:
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