Ethics and New Genetics - Book Report/Review Example

Teacher Dalai Lamas Ethics and the New Genetics The Dalai Lama may have lived a monastic life but he is aware of the advances in technology and its implications. The Dalai Lama’s work entitled Ethics and New Genetics, it clearly demonstrated that the Dalai Lama has a firm grasp on technology and is aware of the present reality. He tackled many consequential effects of modern science and technology on the future of humankind. He also ventured on the role of ethics in the new genetics and attempted to provide an ethical guideline on the proper use of this new technology. He encapsulated the present issue about the use of technology with the passage “A profound aspect of the problem . . . lies in the question of what to do with our new knowledge. . . what we do with such knowledge, and how do we handle it in a way that is most compassionate?” (90) The Dalai Lama tackled the complex question of ethics and morality in the fast changing development of technology such as biogenetic engineering which allows cloning of humans and creation of super babies. In the chapter entitled Ethics and the New Genetics the Dalai Lama he discussed the possibility of changing the genetic make-up of food to produce foods to feed those who have less food. He also talked about cloning which is categorized into therapeutic and reproductive cloning. The Dalai Lama also advised on how these technologies should be used. According to the Dalai Lama, advances in genetic engineering should only be used to benefit human beings such as helping feed the world and saving human lives in the case of cloning. He dismissed its commercial application such as extending the life shelf of tomatoes and raising the immunity of crops against pest in the plantation enunciated as “By actively manipulating the gene, we are on the cusp of forcing as unnaturally quick rate of change in animals and plants as well as our own species” (Dalai Lama 77). He however warned against it’s the abuse of the technology such as the idea of creating super men or ideal children. Personally, I may have to disagree with the Dalai Lama, albeit this position may be unpopular considering that the Dalai Lama mean well in his prescription on the proper use of genetic engineering. He prescribed to use advances in genetic engineering to benefit human beings such as helping feed the world and saving human lives in the case of cloning. This is well intended except that it is abused in its application. He may have recognized the limit of its use such as not extending the life shelves of tomatoes but it is being done today under the justification that GMOs feed the world. The justification of food cloning to feed the hungry is already being done by big companies such as Monsanto through GMO or Genetically Modified Organism except that it is not being use to feed the world but rather to make profit which has unhealthy consequences such as rising case of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Also, GMO food or cloned food is not yet acceptable to everybody because its benefit, safety, and mode of production are still being debated. I however agree with his stance on the limits of human cloning. For the Dalai Lama, deliberately breeding semi-human beings for spare parts is revulsive. This may sound popular but the Dalai Lama is on a right track here. After all, he always advocated for a compassionate motivation and breeding human life to harvest spare parts does not have any iota of compassion. This however attests that the Dalai Lama is keeping track on technological advances and understood the ethical implication of it. This is evident with his perspective on parents who want to have a child through cloning and individuals who may clone themselves in the belief that will continue to live in the new cloned being (193). Dalai Lama answered the hypothesis from a Buddhist perspective that this is not possible. It may be an identical body but there will be two different bodies and they will still die. The answer was feasible from philosophical perspective but this has not been validated from scientific perspective so it should not be taken as a factual truth. In many ways I agree with the Dalai Lama because it shows that he recognizes the advances in technology and that there is a need to provide an ethical and moral guideline for its use. But just as the technology is complex, questions of ethics and morality often multiply with the advancement of technology. This needs to be assessed and evaluated to determine if morality and ethics can keep pace with the rapid advances in bioengineering and if indeed it is still possible to establish morality and ethics in technological advances Morals might be synonymous with ethics but it differs in a fundamental way. Morals come from conscience and it is a standard of right and wrong that does not change with rules, time or norms. To be a moral person means doing the “right” thing regardless of law, rules or context. Ethics on the other hand is doing the “appropriate” thing which differs from morals because it only requires following a certain standard of right which is dictated by rules, norms and context whereas morals is not subjective. Moral is universal regardless of culture, norm or society. Simply put, being good does not mean following certain rules which ethics posit. The right thing to do from ethical perspective is to follow the rules, norms, standard of right set by society or any organization a person belongs whereas being a moral person only follows ones conscience and is insensitive to outside factors such rules, norms and context. Ethics concerns with following the established rules. These rules could be norm, mores or standard of conduct set by society, peers or organization and these rules are relative and could vary depending on circumstances. Morals differ from this aspect in a way that it is guided by right and wrong and not by rules or codes. It is also not subjective or relative as ethics are and are more guided by conscience than societal, peer or organizational pressure (www.differen.com). Applying morals and ethics to the technological advances such as biological engineering as discussed by the Dalai Lama is an imperative and not just a prerogative whose applicability needs to be decided upon. In fact, Dalai Lama’s discussion about the proper use of biotech engineering is very timely today as we still argue about the use of Genetically Modified Organism crops and animals. Dalai Lama already set the ground works of the proper treatment and use of GMO that they should not be used for commercial use such as today. Dalai Lama may not have thoroughly discussed the implications of biotech engineering in GMOs but it was as if he anticipated the negative consequences of its use. The negative consequences as mentioned by Dalai Lama are apparent in the use of chemicals that harms our body and fossil fuel that harms our environment. Without this ethical guideline, business will wantonly use GMO crops and animals without regard to our health and environment for as long as they are making profit. There are already sectors in society that are applying the Dalai Lama’s ethical guidelines about GMOs and they are expanding fast because of its applicability in establishing guidelines in biotech engineering. The accuracy of Dalai Lama’s assessment of morality on the cloning of humans cannot yet be determined because the practice of human cloning is not yet done. Cloning is the act of reproducing human being. It is already done on animals but not yet on human (University of Utah). But it does not mean however the morality of its practice will not be established just because it is considered advance. Morals or the concept of what is right and wrong does not become obsolete with time nor advances in technology. In fact, it should be the other way around. Morals and ethics should guide the use of cloning and other technological advances to make sure that it will be used for the benefit and good of mankind as what Dalai Lama had discussed in his work. It is particularly important that guidelines of ethics and morals should be established first if ever cloning will be attempted. In this case, Dalai Lama has already provided the groundwork that prohibits designer babies and super human because it could become discriminatory and will have ill consequences in the long run. The same applies also on other advance technology where ethical guidelines must be developed parallel to the development of the technology to make sure that such technology will benefit mankind. In sum, it would be very simplistic to say that I agree or disagree with the ethical assertions of the Dalai Lama regarding technological advances. It is because the Dalai Lama tackled several issues that ranged from human cloning to food cloning and there are aspects of it that I agreed and there are also parts of it that I disagreed. I agree with his stand on human cloning that human beings should not be bred for spare parts but I am in disagreement with his view that a cloned human being will have two separate consciousness when they are cloned because it is not yet done and validated by science as factual truth. Regarding food cloning, I may agree with the intent that this is permissible to feed the hungry people of the world but I disagree on how it is done today. Companies who implement food cloning through GMO are not really doing it to feed the world but for profit where their business practices are suspect. The kind and quality of their food is also responsible for increasing obesity and diabetes among people which defeats the purpose of food cloning which is to feed people to make them healthy. Organic food is still better. In this aspect, I may have to ask the Dalai Lama to look further on the practice of companies about GMOs and re-examine his stance. Not that they are using it to extend the shelf life of tomato but it is also responsible for the rising obesity. The Dalai Lama may also have to look the works of other research about the implication of technology that it could be a form of tyranny or could undermine democracy as Singer asked “will it upend democracy or strengthen it?” (Singer 32). There is however one aspect of the Dalai Lama’s work that I totally agree whose perspective should be universally adapted because of its humanistic approach and recognizes the ethical challenges that technology poses to us. This is the passage that reads “We must rise to the ethical challenge as members of one human family, not as a Buddhist, a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim. Nor is it adequate to address these ethical challenges from the perspective of purely secular, liberal political ideals, such as individual freedom, choice and fairness. We need to examine the questions from the perspective of global ethics that is grounded in the recognition of fundamental human values that transcend religion and science” (197). Works Cited University of Utah." What is Cloning?. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2014. . "Ethics vs. Morals." Ethics vs Morals. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2014. . Singer, Peter. "visible man: Ethics in a world without secrets." . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2014. . Lama, D. (n.d.). Ethics adn the New Genetics. Ethics and the New Genetics. Retrieved Jul 09, 2014, from http://www.mccc.edu/pdf/esl135/ethics%20 Read More