Are Human trying to play the role of God!!!

[weixiaobao]

well after watching some program on tv (possibly the Discovery Channel).. I was educated about certain topics: such as in a hundred years we can make a dinosaur out of a chicken http://www.exn.ca/mindbender/default.asp?id=63 by turn on or off a certain ( i don't remember the exact term: enzymes, DNA, protein, genes, or something else) and the second topic is about the first time travel machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRWwI61so5Q ....

I feel as if in time, human will figure out everything and perhaps playing the role of God.. and I feel scare of that thought..

[D3M1URG3]

This Isn't anything new, to be honest. Man has always sought to be the masters of their own destiny, whether that be through manipulation, domination or moral transcendence. These discussed possibilities are just that, btw, as they are not completed projects. Besides, with the growing problem with fuel and growing problems in the Middle East these kind of projects simply wont have the type of backing that they would need to really do these kinds of things.

The only thing that one can really hope the world will gain from such advances in the nature of the world is the wide-spread adoption of Theothanatology.

[_ATMA]

imo the only way for humans to continue on is to be able to design our own destiny we have hit a brick wall in evolution and we need a kick start to get it going again, in some ppl's eyes it may be playing god but can u honestly say that god exists? is there anything that really proves his existence other then the church saying he does. im not trying to knock on any ones relgion believe what u wish thats what i say but honestly we have to take a step forward by using the experiments now instead of when its to late.

btw i watched the same show on TV


our real purpose for living is to collect as much information as we can and pass it on to our next generations

[D3M1URG3]

imo the only way for humans to continue on is to be able to design our own destiny we have hit a brick wall in evolution and we need a kick start to get it going again, in some ppl's eyes it may be playing god but can u honestly say that god exists? is there anything that really proves his existence other then the church saying he does. im not trying to knock on any ones relgion believe what u wish thats what i say but honestly we have to take a step forward by using the experiments now instead of when its to late.

btw i watched the same show on TV


our real purpose for living is to collect as much information as we can and pass it on to our next generations

Just as unfounded as you claim Religion to be.

Who's to say that we need to "kick start" evolution? By this point were already developing ways to get around diseases and situations that have a high percentage of ending human life, and yet all we are really accomplishing is nourishing our already complicated overpopulation issue. I understand the need to try to prevent peoples untimely death, but by this point "untimely" is becoming very vague, and the idea that we continue to find ways to encourage the exhaustion of natural resources just completely disgusts me.

Also, when exactly is it "too late"? Man will evolve when the need presents itself, when it's really needed. That's the point of evolution, to adapt and change. Although I can tell you that in many ways we are already evolving....

1. Over the generations peoples toes are beginning to grow closer and closer together, as our need for grip on the ground is unnecessary due to our over reliance of shoes.

2. Our skin Is slowly becoming weaker to the sun's rays due to our over reliance of clothing, characterized by a general paleness that is becoming more apparent over the generations.

3. Baldness is becoming ever more common due to our lives being lived in doors, and the need for hair (which was to protect the tops of our heads from the sun's rays) is slowly becoming unnecessary.

4. Many of our bodies natural resistances are beginning to go away due to our over reliance of chemicals. Body odor is becoming worse, our pores collect a tremendous amount of waste at a much faster pace.

So personally I think trying to "jump start" our evolution is tremendously unnecessary, we simply need to live our lives and not solely concern ourselves on making our entire race immortal. Eventually our natural resources are simply going to run out, and we should more be focusing on fixing that issue before it's "too late".

[miyi]

I don't have a problem if science wants to push things in this direction, however, as long as morals and ethics are not trampled upon (i.e. human cloning, embryonic stem cell research which makes religious groups uneasy), then I would support it.

Personally, I would prefer science to dwell more on resource enrichment, medicine and energy technology, because these are the things that will improve the human condition, more than anything else. Resurrecting extinct species such as dinosaurs not only goes against evolution, but it really does not serve any practical purpose other than to satiate our curiosities. Not to mention the burden it will have in funding these projects, it's just a waste of time and money, imo.

Time travel?....ok, that's just ridiculous.

An example of where I'd like science to focus more is how we can multiply resources, i.e. food. I've read articles of genetically modified food crops that are more nutritious...what if we can find a way to produce food more abundantly? i.e. cloning food? This will help a lot in making food cheaper and readily available to feed the hungry.

Developments in medicine is another area that I wish we'd improve on, such as the cure for many incurable illnesses as AIDS, cancer, etc. And lastly, we need to explore renewable energy that's environment-friendly, because energy is increasingly becoming scarce, and a crucial source of world conflicts. If we can eliminate scarcity in food and energy, as well as improve health, then world conflicts will surely drop, and we'll all be happy. Fundamental issues such as global warming, poverty and hunger, diseases, and energy will all be met, and we'll be left with only one problem to solve: population control. By then, implementing effective policies to curb this problem would be piece of cake and doable, and we won't have to tackle so many problems all at once.

I believe science can potentially develop in these areas sometime in the near future, and we now have the tools, technology, and collective human intellectual capacity...and if there was a God, I'm sure he wouldn't be expending his time and effort fixated on fruitless scientific endeavors such as resurrecting dinosaurs or time travel. He's much wiser than that.

[Digital_Eon]

as long as morals and ethics are not trampled upon (i.e. human cloning,

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but - what's so wrong about human cloning? It's probably more natural than things like gene modification or time travel, I would think...

My opinion on this topic is fairly brief: If humans were never intended (by some higher power) to do such things, then why were we given the ability to develop the technology to make such things possible? There are still restrictions placed upon us - who knows if time travel is possible, and if so, what about the concept of paradox? Will we ever be able to prevent the existence of the force of gravity? Probably not. We can, however, do amazing things with technology. So why not use it?

(As for the thing on evolution: We are still evolving. Macroevolution, however, takes place over a very long period of time, longer than the thousands of years of civilized humanity's history. In a hundred thousand years, though, who knows?)

[miyi]

I'm not an expert on the human cloning issue/debate, however, even I can come up with a few general observations which I can tell you qualifies as "unethical":

- when you clone a person, does he/she counts as a human being?

will he/she be given equal human rights?

I'm under the impression that when you start to clone people, that there would be a temptation to exploit human clones as if they were dispensable and non-human. They are likely to be exploited, abused, and treated as non-humans.

and besides, what's the use of cloning people, when we are already facing problems of over-population?



All I'm saying is that ethics and morals must be kept into consideration while pushing the boundaries as far as scientific advance goes.

[Digital_Eon]

- when you clone a person, does he/she counts as a human being?

People would think one wouldn't? o_o Test-tube babies are counted as human, as are identical twins, and clones are basically a combination of the two. I guess the artificial creation of humans could be considered as "playing god" by some, though? (Then again, babies still need to grow in a human body at this time, so...)

[rhapsody blue]

People would think one wouldn't? o_o Test-tube babies are counted as human, as are identical twins, and clones are basically a combination of the two. I guess the artificial creation of humans could be considered as "playing god" by some, though? (Then again, babies still need to grow in a human body at this time, so...)

i think the main concern about cloning is the thought of bringing someone back. they may have the same appearance but they won't have the same personalities or characteristics. so are they the same soul? plus it may bring up the issue of designer babies which some have called a creation which hitler wanted.

anyway, i think it's natural for humans to seek and discover information that will facilitate life and to gain knowledge.

[abu_89]

If man should ever fly too close to the sun, the wax would melt and we would fall again into the sea. Read Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Man can never attain perfection, since it is just a relative goal.

No matter what science can accomplish in the next century, no matter what technology can do in the next decade, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you are but a human. A paltry being who was not informed of its reason for existing. Perhaps we were created for the amusement of a higher being, who watches us as we flail with our foreign wings into unfamiliar air. Or perhaps, the reasons were benevolent but beyond our realms of understanding.
So who are we to think that we can play god when we cannot understand what god is. Does our poor interpretation of scarce miracles justify our believe in a god-almighty? Or is this the result of civilization. A glue to hold together what is human society.
Alas, I digress. But I do not worry about what will happen tomorrow. The world will change. We will change. And what scared you today, will not bother you tomorrow. Perhaps in a few generations, we will become immortal beings. Then what. What is there left to do in life? Science will advance but it's application will always be limited by society. And unless society collapses, we will be fine.

But society is a fragile little thing.

Ignorance is bliss. Apathy is not the cure for the world but it is a cure for the wandering mind that concerns itself with things that need not affect them.

**** Note: It is late in the morning and I felt like rambling...

[D3M1URG3]

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but - what's so wrong about human cloning? It's probably more natural than things like gene modification or time travel, I would think...

The wrong aspect of Human Cloning simply boils down to ethics and morals, plain and simple. Is there necessarily something specifically, factually wrong with cloning? We can do it, and we eventually will. However, the real problem is, like Miyi stated -- There are too many social issues that involve clones. Not to mention it brings so many unknown notions and possibilities into the light with such a advancement....

Let's say for example: Perhaps a specific government gains the ability to clone humans perfectly, ok? Now let's say that this said government has a list, generated by the highest ranking member of the government. This could be people within their own country, this could be those residing outside of their country. Now, these could be criminals, politicians, celebrities, or people with very specific roles. An example would be The Pope, let's use our current Pope as an example. Let's say that Pope Benedict XVI convinces the whole of Catholics everywhere that said government is doing something that challenges the beliefs of Catholics? Let's say that said government decides this is extremely dangerous, and makes plans to obtain any kind of DNA from the Pope in order to clone him. They could just as easily plan a way to replace the Pope with their own, and noone would know the difference (if done correctly). It has the same blood, the same genetics, and through proper Brainwashing could be a perfect replacement -- only with their own spin -- keeping a pivotal political and religious figure as the puppet of one single nation. The consequences of which could be devastating.

This Is simply one possible example, with many possible others. Giving people that kind of power simply lessens the quality of a persons life, and many things that people should fear will no longer apply. Then your dealing in Theothanatology -- (for those that don't know: Theothanatology is a Friedrich Nietzsche concept of "God is Dead") -- as how can someone really believe in a "soul" or a "god" when if they die or a loved one dies, they can simply be brought back?

This concept pushes the envelope of what can be considered an acceptable advancement and what is simply something we shouldn't do.

[Digital_Eon]

Let's say that said government decides this is extremely dangerous, and makes plans to obtain any kind of DNA from the Pope in order to clone him. They could just as easily plan a way to replace the Pope with their own, and noone would know the difference (if done correctly). It has the same blood, the same genetics, and through proper Brainwashing could be a perfect replacement -- only with their own spin -- keeping a pivotal political and religious figure as the puppet of one single nation. The consequences of which could be devastating.

Except that in order to make that kind of copy, the clone would need to be born around the same time as the Pope, right? Otherwise, it'd just be a baby waiting to grow up. Technically, rapid/slowed aging could be discovered at some point, but that seems to be an entirely different issue... It might be interesting to age slower, if that were even possible, although not only does that really seem to fall into the "playing God" category but also might provide problems when one considers the amount of humans already on this earth and how it might disrupt the natural cycle of things.

as how can someone really believe in a "soul" or a "god" when if they die or a loved one dies, they can simply be brought back?

But they wouldn't be brought back, right? One wouldn't say that identical twins have the same soul (would you?), and they would be more likely to be similar than two clones due to similar environments. Even if one took genes from a dictator, for example, there's no guarantee that the person would end up having the same attitude or being a dictator because the environment would be different (and presumably they'd be growing up in a developed nation with that technology, and would find it hard to hold such views particularly in public).

Still, clones probably wouldn't live as long if their genetic material was originally extracted from an adult due to the corrosion of DNA (the lack of telomeres). Their DNA is more vulnerable to being destroyed at important points. Therefore, there's no point in even speculating about what people could do with adult clones at this point - a clone probably wouldn't live that long. I suppose - although I don't know for sure - that cloning a baby would minimize these problems, but who knows what a baby will become in the future. =)

Okay, okay, sorry, I've derailed the topic. Anyone else heard that scientists have actually been able to create a new genome? It's just the DNA for a single-celled organism right now, but with more development, new species of organisms (possibly even animals at some point) could be created. Who knows what could come of this. :3

[Windmillblade]

The only reason we play god is because we are set free and unbound by spiritual laws that govern life's system . we'd be better off with ought self thought because the brain is good but it is more bad as nuclear weapons prove.The only way to stop us is to be annihilated. Corporations and governments only care about themselves but we have come too far to make a change. Natural disaster will put us in our place.

[lordHokage]

well after watching some program on tv (possibly the Discovery Channel).. I was educated about certain topics: such as in a hundred years we can make a dinosaur out of a chicken http://www.exn.ca/mindbender/default.asp?id=63 by turn on or off a certain ( i don't remember the exact term: enzymes, DNA, protein, genes, or something else) and the second topic is about the first time travel machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRWwI61so5Q ....

I feel as if in time, human will figure out everything and perhaps playing the role of God.. and I feel scare of that thought..

I wouldn’t worry too much about human beings trying to play the role of God. Even though God has given human beings great knowledge, but knowledge has it limits. There are many things that human beings would never be able to achieved, just how God destroyed the Tower of Babel, he will do like wise with the evolution theory.

[rhapsody blue]

I wouldn’t worry too much about human beings trying to play the role of God. Even though God has given human beings great knowledge, but knowledge has it limits. There are many things that human beings would never be able to achieved, just how God destroyed the Tower of Babel, he will do like wise with the evolution theory.

i disagree with your statement. knowledge may be limited but it doesn't mean people will stop learning or inventing machines to make life simpler. long ago, people didn't think we would be able to fly but look at us now. we have airplanes, helicopters, etc.

there is a quote which states: "nothing is impossible if our minds say so." as long as humans are eager to learn and to do research, more advancements and innovations will be made.