Normally when people talk about creating new life they are speaking sentimentally about reproduction. That's actually continuation or propagation of life, not "creating new life" as such. There has been a push for years among roboticists to create a piece of technology that is sentient, a genuine example of "artificial intelligence." This too is not exactly "life" in the conventional sense. There are now researchers in the area of biology who believe they are close to creating very simple, completely artificial, life. This would be "life" as we normally define it, with the ability to take in energy and reproduce itself. It would not be a modification of existing lifeforms, but genuine new life.
As a Christian I tend to see it as playing God. The thought of human cloning or the modification of human DNA to produce more "desirable" results in a future child seemed questionable enough, but an entirely new species?
On the other hand, the possibility is fascinating. If life in some form can be made in a lab quite a bit of valuable information will be gathered for the field of biology that may shed light on the workings of our own systems and those of other species.
What do you think about this? Good idea, bad idea, will never work or you don't care?
See:
Biologists on the Verge of Creating New Form of Life
I've personally never been a fan of the phrase "playing God." My sincere belief is that if there are certain powers that only God should have (which seems to be the most prevalent meaning the phrase seems to express), then I believe that God has made sure that no one else will have that power. To think otherwise suggests that God has allowed the division between Himself and His creation to become blurred, with the implication that He has done so in error.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are those who use the term "playing God" to refer to concerns about the ethical rammifications of doing certain things. While I certainly think such concerns have merit and should be dicussed, I also think that invoking the idea of "playing God" too often shuts down the necessary conversation. In such cases, the use of the phrase actually becomes self-defeating.
My concerns about humans creating life revolve around the ethical implications of the status of that new life in terms of of rights and our own responsiblities towards it. Does the fact that we create new life mean we can do with it as we please. Can we destroy these organisms at our whim? Can we exploit them as we please? Or do they deserve the same amount of dignity that we'd grant to similar organisms not created by us? On what do we base the answers to these questions?
These are the questions we may all have to face as things progress. Because to be honest, if we can create life, we will. At this point, I believe there's no way to unring that particular bell.
Jarred,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your perspective on the term "playing God." I tend think there are things we are not meant to do and which SHOULD BE be left to God, and that the ability to do those things was given us in that we were made in His image and likeness. At the same time, if there are certain things that we absolutely must not do because they would interfere with God's overall project and plan, we WILL NOT BE able to do them.
Dunno.
As for the ethical implications for creating new life and treating the new creatures with dignity, a this point we are only talking about the equivelent of single cell organisms. I have no qualms about killing bacteria or experimenting on viruses, so what researchers do with them at this point really doesn't concern me as long as they don't become a threat to us in some way. Of course, if synthetic multi-celled organisms were every created we'd have to have a serious conversation about the ethics involved.
Thanks for commenting. Not too many people have found my recent ruminations very interesting, I'm afraid.
Believe me, I can sympathize on with you on the apparent lack of interest in your recent ruminations. Of course, with regards to your one series, it's not so much a lack of interest on my part but a matter of trying to decide what to say.
ReplyDeleteI will admit, however, that I'm currently trying to avoid anything having to do with a certain Vice Presidential candidate. ;)
Back to the topic at hand, however, I agree with you about the single cell organisms. I agree that what they're doing now isn't that big an ethical concern. However, I'd also argue that if we wait until scientists actually start creating multi-cellular organisms to start asking the questions, it may be too late to answer them.
LOL! No, I'm saying that I've experienced a similar sense that not many people have found my latest ruminations all that interesting. But thanks for the giggle.
ReplyDelete