Synthèse de notion

Synthèse de notion

Intro :

The notion I'm going to deal with is the idea of progress. First of all, I would like to give my definition of this notion : the progress is the will of improve different fields, as an evolution in terms of science for example. However, the idea of progress is still at the core of discussions today, between those who consider that it's beneficial on one hand, and those for who it's harmful, on the other hand. In relation to the notion, I'd like to focus on a specific aspect, which is the biotechnologies, and more precisely genetic modifications. Using the several documents we've studied in class, we could try to answer this question :

What are the different aspects of the scientific breakthrough that has been made in these last years ?

or

Why can we say that biotechnologies is a good example to illustrate the notion idea of progress ?

First,  we will talk about the advantages of  biotechnology and the different new procedures used thanks to the scientific progress, and then we will consider the limitations and the different ethical issues.  

1/ Positive aspects

- creating babies thanks to a new medical procedure can allow to create people who are ideal transplant candidates, to save people from diseases

- PGD : choose a future baby's physical and intellectual characteristics (gender selection : cosmetic purposes)

- using in vitro fertilization to ensure that a baby doesn't possess any genetic disease (to increase the chances of having a healthy baby) (Design a baby)

- surrogate mothers to help couples who can't have babies (A booming business)

2/  Negative aspects

- parents can't force their child to give organs against their will (My Sister's Keeper)

- PGD violates religious morals, scientists are playing God ?

- Being able to choose a baby's intellectuals characteristics could lead to a break in the population because the poor people will not have access to this expensive procedure : a dystopia (video how to recognize a dystopia + design a baby text)

- surrogate mothers must deal with their family's judgments, because the society is very conservative (A booming business)

- progress can be dangerous if it is not controlled or used for bad, science could lead to a world without emotions, values... (Welcome to Gattaca)

Conclusion :

As a conclusion, it's important to say that biotechnology is necessary for humanity's progress. As far as I am concerned, I'd say progress it's beneficial in many situations, such as the fact it can help parents who can't have children to have one, and in a good health, ,or even in the fight against serious genetic diseases. But moreover, it could lead to the dehumanization of our world. That's why I can't tell if the scientific progress is all bad or all good, it depends on the situation.

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