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Essay / The question of science without ethics, as shown in Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
In the emerging technological age, the idea of science without ethics has become a central issue. Throughout the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, science without ethics is explored through two dystopian worlds designed by Atwood from the perspective of the protagonist Jimmy, or Snowman, as he is called after the destruction of the humanity by a devastating plague. The world in which Jimmy has constant flashbacks throughout the novel depicts a time in the arguably not-so-near future where science and technology seem to be developing faster than ethics and human responsibility. The second world Atwood fabricates is a post-human world in which "Crackers", creatures similar to humans but without human flaws, are among the last living beings on the planet, in addition to being invaded by genetically modified animals such as rakhunks, wolves and pigeons. Crake, Jimmy's twisted and morally questionable childhood friend, is responsible for the collapse of humanity and, as a whole, is a symbol of all the negative possibilities that can arise from scientific thinking detached from ethics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the novel, Atwood plays with the idea of anthropocentrism, the idea that in the world, humans are the dominant and most morally important animals. Through Crake and her obsession with science without ethics, Atwood explores the dangers of attempting to push the boundaries of humanity and anthropocentrism; it turns Oryx and Crake into a cautionary tale about the future. Throughout Oryx and Crake, Atwood contrasts Crake's science-obsessed character with Jimmy who largely embodies the humanities. With all the cold, detached futuristic madness going on in the novel, Jimmy acts as a voice of reason, a voice of the humanities. In order to create the character of the all-powerful Crake, Atwood began her interactions with Jimmy as a teenager. High on marijuana, Jimmy and Crake played computer games centered around creation and destruction, such as "Barbarian Stomp" or "Blood and Roses." Jimmy describes Blood and Roses as a game similar to Monopoly, except that the content of this game is much more vulgar Jimmy describes the Blood side as a game with "human atrocities for the counters, large-scale atrocities: individual rapes and murders didn't count." not, there had to be a large number of people' wiped out, genocides, that sort of thing The Rose side played with human achievements” (Atwood 79). , Jimmy quietly plays the game but he actively knows that these actions and games are morally wrong, at one point he even calls "Blood and Roses" a "wicked game" (79). Reader begins to understand that Crake is a budding psychopath with an inflated ego and a wicked god complex, which contrasts with Jimmy. Although Jimmy is flawed, as the narrator of the tale he is the only voice of ethics or moral reasoning. Overall, Crake is mentally detached from the harm he does in games or the harm he does while watching child pornography, and his cold attitude is what makes him likely to devote his life to science without ethics and to single-handedly bring humanity to its terrible destiny. and a bloody disappearance. In the futuristic society that Atwood creates, science without ethics is predominant and people are incredibly seduced by biotechnology and its benefits.potential. Near the beginning of the novel, in one of Jimmy's many flashbacks to the world before, Jimmy remembers the pigs, which are essentially genetically modified pigs whose sole purpose on the planet was to "grow an assortment of 'foolproof human tissue organs into a genetically knockout trans-pig host – organs that would transplant smoothly and avoid rejection, but would also be able to repel attacks from opportunistic microbes and viruses, of which there were an increasing number more strains each year” (22). The anthropocentrism in Jimmy's society is so dominant that biotechnology companies have resorted to modifying other species in order to complement their own transhumanist needs. However, what Jimmy's company doesn't realize is that transhumanism comes at a price: what happens when a change in life expectancy occurs for humans? A change in human life expectancy means a serious negative impact both on the environment that humans actively and knowingly destroy on a daily basis, and a devastating impact on species other than humans. To accentuate the negative effect of anthropocentrism, Crake reveals that most of the "bugs had now been worked out, Crake said, and that new varieties were appearing every month... 'If you could tell they were wrong,' Crake said, “It was a bad job. These butterflies fly, mate, lay eggs, caterpillars emerge. (200). In this day and age, biotech companies are essentially playing God, and they see no harm in what they do when they mess around with other species because in their heads they believe they are the center of the universe, they don't mind playing God because they trust that technology and science will solve any problems that arise. In the novel, Crake is not the only one to exploit both humans and nature. It is revealed that biotechnology companies such as HelthWyzer or RejoovenEssence that dominate society are working not only to increase human life expectancy, but also to manufacture new diseases in order to get people to rely on their products . The unethical science at these for-profit biotech companies forces us to question the value of humanity. Not only do humans modify other species for their own benefit, but they also make their peers and loved ones sick on purpose to feed their sadistic capitalist needs. These evil and dehumanizing plans were kept secret from the general population, obviously to avoid an all-out revolt, and once people discovered their existence, like Jimmy's mother or Crake's father, they were eliminated; their morality and ethics got them killed. Throughout Jay Sanderson's scholarly article, "Pigoons, Rakhunks, and Crakers: Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and Geneately Engineered Animals in a (Latourian) Hybrid World", Sanderson argues that the citizens of Jimmy's society are so infatuated with biotechnology and its potential benefits that they are willing to take Crake's BlyssPluss pill without knowing or really caring about its side effects, because they hoped it would improve their quality of life and help them eliminate their vulnerability as than humans. Little did these people know that the BlyssPluss pill actually contained Crake's deadly Jetspeed Ultra Extraordinary (JUVE) virus, which causes the human body to shut down completely, leading to mass extinction of humanity (Sanderson 220). It can be argued that Crake is not completely evil in tricking society into taking a pill that will end his existence, suchthat she knows her. In humans, Crake sees a species that is slowly killing itself and the planet it inhabits. Resources become scarce, pollution created by humans makes the climate harsher, and social classes become more widespread, leading to wars and unrest within the species. Crake sees that humanity itself cannot be saved, so he imagines creating a "better" species. Towards the end of the novel, when the two dystopian worlds collide, Crake introduces Jimmy to his life's work, the "Crackers". Throughout his life, Crake's isolation from human emotions and the things that make people truly "human" made him a cold-hearted, logical man obsessed with the idea of science without ethics. Crake does not value humanity, Crake views humanity as weak, which truly separates him from the rest of his population who are highly anthropocentric. Like many other species before man, Crake foresees the extinction of humanity, but he accelerates it with the pill BlyssPluss, which is sent worldwide and successfully massacres almost all of humanity, 'except for Jimmy and maybe a few others, while Atwood leaves the readers to decide. believe at the end of the novel. Throughout Crake's life, Atwood cracks fanciful jokes about his refrigerator magnets. In Crake's academic life they were much more playful, but towards the end of Crake's life they evolved into messages about creation, such as "Where God is, man is not". (Atwood 301), because here Crake ignores all other forms of life and plays God. Crake's obsession in his life and work was with his "Crakers", which are simply extremely genetically modified humans. By taking the positive and advantageous aspects of many different species, Crake creates the "perfect" human or creature. Crake's children are not destructive creatures; Crake had eliminated all bad "human" tendencies. Among the Children of Crake, there was no notion of racism, and therefore there was no presence of the negative repercussions of racism. There was no need for hierarchy, all Crakes were equal and no class system was present. The Children of Crake are not territorial; they share their land equally. For them, food will never be a dividing factor among the population, because the children of Crake eat roots, berries and leaves – and there are always plenty of them. Sexuality will never be a torment for them, because like most mammals, Crake children go into heat at regular intervals. They therefore do not waste their time ruminating about a lost or unrequited love. Crake's children only live to be about thirty years old, so there is no fear of mortality, or as far as Crake knows, given that at the time of his demise the "Crakers" were nowhere near their thirty years of self-destruction (305). Most importantly, among the Children of Crake, the tendency to make art or believe in a God or religion is absent. Crake had tried to remove almost everything that made a human being. Every time Snowman (Jimmy) interacts with the "Crakers", we learn that they are naive and simple creatures. However, as the novel progresses, what Crake desired from these efficient beings begins to elude. Towards the middle of the novel, as Snowman decides to go on an adventure, he stops at the Children of Crake's campground to let him know that he is leaving, and when he arrives at the camp, he is welcomed by Abraham Lincoln. Snowman notes that the man named Abraham Lincoln is becoming "a bit of a leader, this one." Beware of the leaders, Crake said. First the.