January 03, 2003
Cloning

For a long time now I have been dismayed at the general news about cloning as a 'frankenstein' science. Politicians get in front of microphones and declare to 'stop cloning' as if it is some terrible thing.

I flet rather alone in my view that cloning, like many other fruits of science, is not inherently wrong, but could be used in wrong way. Is electricity wrong because people can killed in an electric chair? Are painkillers wrong because some people can abuse them?

I read in the LA Times yesterday a great essay about cloning. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait.

That essay pretty much sums up my view of the cloning issue. This quote from teh article is dead on: "The soul of science is found in courageous thought and creative experiment, not in restrictive fear and prohibitions. For science to progress it must be given the opportunity to succeed or fail."

The writer of the essay, Michael Shermer, is guy that fights for the triumph of reason over fear and ignorance. I wish we had more thinkers like him in the public view.

Posted by michael at January 03, 2003 09:21 AM