Cloning In Brave New World Essays - Biology, Cloning, Genetics

Cloning In Brave New World Cloning in Brave New World by Christopher M. Earhart It has been said that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets, meaning that he was the last. However, our world has recently been graced by another prophet in Aldous Huxley. Huxley's prophetic vision is unmistakable in his science-fiction novel, Brave New World, in which he delivers a valuable message: control advancements in technology before they control us. Huxley supports this message with a strong example of a society that is so overrun by technology that the human race has lost their individuality, freedom, and ultimately their identity as human beings. In this Brave New World, artificially-born humans are genetically engineered, divided into castes, molded into machines through hypnopaedia, and controlled by the drug Soma. The new world appears to be a perfect utopia on the surface--there is no disease, no warfare, and no sadness. However, the humans have sacrificed thought, feelings, free will, and everything which makes one human to achieve this state. Through Brave New World, Huxley teaches us that these sacrifices are far too great and will eventually occur if humans continue to misuse technology in the future. Huxley's warning in Brave New World carries so much weight because of the truthful predictions he includes in the novel. Despite being written in 1932, Huxley predicts genetic engineering, test-tube babies, cloning, a loss of meaning in sexual relationships, and drug abuse. All of these predictions were far beyond his time, and all have either come true or are on the brink of occurrence. The most significant of these is his presentiment that production, not childbirth, will be the process in which humans are brought into this world. Just as Huxley predicted, scientists can now produce humans outside of the womb, and soon the cloning of human beings will be feasible. The concept of producing humans without parents is the foundation of the Brave New World that Huxley urges us to avoid. In Brave New World, Huxley's forewarning of the manufacturing of humans reveals the devastating results that our misuse of advancing technology can bring upon mankind. In Brave New World, Huxley prophetically predicts the mass-production of humans. Huxley's prediction begins with the first chapter, where the Director of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center gives a tour to prospective employees. The Director explains to them the Bokanovsky Process. In the Bokanovsky's Process, a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult.1 Before, one egg resulted in one human, but now ninety-six twins are being produced from one egg. The Director also explains that with Podsnap's Technique, a facilitated ripening process, you get an average of nearly eleven thousand brothers and sisters in a hundred and fifty batches of identical twins, all within two years of the same age.2 This process allows fertilized eggs to be produced in mesmerizing numbers. After these eggs are fertilized, they develop in the bottlin g room, where all the embryos grow in tubes. Like Model Ts on the assembly line, the bottles are transported on conveyor belts that stretch almost half a mile, where at every meter the embryo is specifically conditioned for its future role. After two-hundred and sixty-seven days, the babies are decanted, which is the equivalent of birth. The result? Thousands and thousands of virtually identical babies, all conditioned and predestined for a specific lifestyle. This controlled mass-production of babies in Brave New World possesses several results which appear beneficiary. As the Director states, Bokanovsky's Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!3 In Brave New World, Bokanovsky's Process allows the controllers to create a multitude of identical humans, perfectly suited for each social class. When all the humans are alike and conditioned to be content with their social class, it leaves no room for conflict, and therefore stability results. The motto of Brave New World, Community, Identity, Stability, is maintained by this process. Also, the humans are free from disease as well as from unintentional retardation and disabilities, and there is always a sufficient source of reliable workers. On the other hand, there are many