-(((||[The Evolution of Goodness]||)))-

Personally, I don't really agree with the theory of evolution.

But that's another story.

How does this goodness evolve? I do not understand. What is goodness? I believe goodness to be a form of caring for one another, a sort of compassion that evolves (?) and develops between two parties, a willingness to help and assist each other. This compassion, this feeling, can manifest itself from a sort of mutual relationship to cooperation to care and concern, and in the Homo Sapiens level of thinking, love. 

The article  has explained the presence of emotional power in biological occurences, and it has done so pretty well. However, one thing still perturbs me. How can we quantify goodness?

William D. Hamilton has formulated this formulative formula which basically allows for goodness to enter the equation (pardon the metaphor used) of evolution. Yet it is not possible to actually just assign numbers and letters to the 'costs of goodness' and 'the benefit that is obtained from the relationship'. Life would be too structured if such a thing could be done. 

Then in that case, how does the human mind make decisions if it is impossible to quantify goodness? After all, doesnt the mind use logic to make its decision? The answer is, a lot more is involved in this decision making process. Emotions themselves are things that cannot be associated with survival instinct. That is why we see a mother willing to risk her life in order to save her baby, although this does conflict violently with the theory of evolution. Emotions are a sort of attachment that have been formed between people. Not only that, emotions are also linked to other things, such as material objects. As such, this 'goodness' cannot be just a result of evolution.

The genetic relatedness between individuals also does not seem to make sense to me, after all, a couple who has not met throughout their childhood can meet, develop feleings for each other, and get married. This relationship is what will determine the amount of goodness shown to each other. Even humans can come to care for cats and dogs. What has genetic relatedness have to do with all this? If survival of the fittest comes in, humans might as well kill all the non-beneficial animals and only rear chickens and cows as food.

I personally believe that humans develop this sort of feelng to good and help others because of the emotions that they have. These emotions develop into a sense of morality, which helps humans to make 'moral' and 'charitable' decisions. Soon, we tend to develop a form of care and concern for people who we feel more towards. Such a feeling can also come about towards people whom we pity, such as old women. However, this brings in another factor into the equation (pardon the metaphor again) which is pity and sympathy, which is another complex emotion of the human mind. 

Anyway, to prevent any further cerebral complications taking place in your brain, I shall end my discussion here. Take note, this too is a sign of pity.

I feel, as a whole, that a lot more contributes to the amount of goodness, no, forget the word amount, just the goodness, that we feel should be exacted upon those around us. The most important factor would be the emotions inside us, that either conflict or accompany the logic that is used for decision making.

And by the way, I still disagree with the theory of evolution. The complexity of eye, the coordination of schools of fish, the flight mechanisms of birds, all these factors are strong doubting points of information against this theory. Now if you will excuse me to explain futher....

 

My Time Based English Commentary -_-

1.     Summary

 

This article explains the advantages and disadvantages of cloning, coupled with whether or not cloning is ethical. Cloning can be considered ethical as there are many other forms of artificial reproduction which are. Cloning will eventually be part of everyday life, and people will get used to it. Cloning can help create stem cells to cure various diseases and it can help mothers to bear children. However, the technology for cloning is not fully fledged and may cause harm to the subjects of the cloning or even the mothers, as even cloning animals has still not been made possible.

 

2.       Commentary

Cloning. That single word is enough to spark off a chain reaction of anger and excitement anywhere in the world. Cloning could lead to disasterous results, with deformed babies and mutants only dreamt of in nightmares coming into existence for real, and mass legions of soldiers, all identical, with only one cause. To fight.

That cloning remains a highly controversial topic today, it is still an important field of science. We must delve more into the research of cloning to find out more about how we can help man and society. However, in the process of doing so, we must not forget about the perspectives of others, such as those who find it unethical, the viewpoint of the mother, and the thoughts of the clone itself.

Cloning may be considered unethical in that the livelihoods of many people are at risk. For example, the mother may face problems if the child is born with deformities. The mother will be at a loss whether to keep the dysfunctional child, or to simply end its suffering. We also have to consider the perspective of the child, as although it may not feel emotions just yet, it can still feel pain. We will not know if the child who is born suffers from internal problems. As such, we have to think through these viewpoints first because science must always be ethical, and if science is carried out at the expense of others, then science is better off left undeveloped.

Another controversial area of cloning would be the allusion of Man to playing God. This is not acceptable as there are many people who have a monotheistic religion that God created Man, and therefore Man has no right to create Man himself. The idea of cloning clashes with the idea of God as it is wrong for Man to be toying around with the balance of nature that has been set in place for us.

Furthermore, cloning has not been successful so far. Many trials on animals have failed in producing a fully functional clone. A very striking example would be Dolly the Sheep. Dolly was a result of 276 failed attempts to procure a cloned sheep. All the other 276 sheep died prematurely. If we are to move on to human cloning, we might as well be prepared for many more child mortalities before even a single human clone is successful, and this is certainly not ethical.

On the other hand, cloning has its benefits, if mastered properly. A mild form of cloning, the production of stem cells, can actually help to save many lives. Stem cells are a special type of cell that can modify their functions to be suited any environment in the human body that they are in. As such, it will be easier to carry out, say, heart replacements, as we do not need a donor to provide the heart. Instead, the patient himself can provide the stem cells through cloning in order to produce his own heart. In this way, cloning serves to benefit mankind.

In addition, cloning can be one of the methods for artificial reproduction. If a mother wants to have child that is of her own genes, but is unable to bear a child and her ovaries cannot produce eggs, then she can use cloning. This will help many women around the world who wish to have children but cannot, and this again shows another good side of cloning.

Lastly, and most importantly, cloning must be pursued as it is an aspect of science. Cloning offers a wide field of opportunities that are waiting to be discovered. It is not within Man’s ability to understand everything, but it is Man’s duty to try and understand everything. If we stem the research in cloning and make it illegal, then we will not be making any progress in the field of biology. As such, we have to continue cloning studies as it is especially important and relevant in today’s modern age.

In conclusion, we should and must continue research in cloning. However, we have to consider the ethical boundaries that we are confined in so as not to breach anyone’s rights of privacy. We must ensure that all those involved in the research, most importantly the mother and the clone, are not harmed in any way during the research. Yet cloning is definitely a must as it is a potential disease-curer and a child-bringer. Most importantly, cloning must be carried out carefully with the necessary precautions so that it does not go out of control and produce the nightmarish figments of our imagination.

 

 

New Post: Introductory introduction --> stem cells

In a hospital somewhere in Europe, a woman lies on her bed, suffering. Her limbs are shriveled and quavering. She has only one kidney, and lives on dialysis everyday. Her food is liquidified as she cannot swallow. If only stem cells were allowed in medical research today....

In this millennium where the development of science is accelerating rapidly, stem cell research should not be barred. Conversely, more funds should be poured in to further ensure its progress. Although it can be said that the manipulation of stem cells is considered unethical as it appears to toy with life as a whole, the development of stem cell research will help save many lives by curing dieseases and improving the standard of living for many afflicted people. Stem cell research will also open up new possibilities in biological and biomechanical research in more fields such as sports and career. Most importantly, it is the way that stem cells are used that determines the positive or negative impact of whatever research that has been conducted.

Stem Cells

In this millennium where the development of science is accelerating rapidly, stem cell research should not be barred. Conversely, more funds should be poured in to further ensure its progress. Although it can be said that the manipulation of stem cells is considered unethical as it appears to toy with life as a whole, the development of stem cell research will help save many lives by curing dieseases and improving the standard of living for many afflicted people.  Stem cell research will also open up new possibilities in biological and biomechanical research in more fields such as sports and career. Most importantly, it is the way that stem cells are used that determines the positive or negative impact of whatever research that has been conducted.

Many people, at first glance, will object to the development in stem cell research. Stem cells have the ability to modify their structures to become other cells in the body. Control of such ability would indeed seem unethical to many. By using stem cells to create organs or develop muscles, humans would have the ability to regenerate and replenish life itself. This would indeed appear to be 'playing God' or 'manipulating the very strings of life'. If something goes wrong, which is of course, very likely to happen, then it will be too late, and a life might have been crippled or lost. Such actions are deemed wrong and man is not worthy to be dong so as he is, after all, mortal.

However, people fail to realise the limitless benefits of stem cell research. Stem cells offer us the prospect of being able to cure diseases that were once thought to have been nearly impossible to cure. Leprosy, polio, or even adrenoleukodystrophy can possibly be cured by using stem cells to replace the tissues and organs of the human body which have been damaged. By doing so, stem cells can renew distraught lives which have been crippled with diseases for many years, or help sustain a young, innocent life so that it can live on to see the world. Clearly, stem cells have their place in medicinal and health issues and have the potential to change the way hospitals save lives.

Stem cells can not only be used for medical purposes, but also for sports, career, or even other areas of science. Stem cells can be used to strengthen or modify muscles so that athletes can run faster. Stem cells can ensure a construction worker's saftey if he/she(?) is in danger of the many hazards of the building site. Stem cells can also be used to change the structure and functions of the human body, such that he/she can survive longer at high altitudes, lift heavier weights, or withstand an immense amount of stress.  How? Many aspects of the body, such as the brain, muscles, skin and lungs can be  modified to adapt to the suited environment. As such, more fields can be delved into, and as a result, the development of science can be further accelerated. Stem cells can help us to explore many areas of life.

All in all, it is the way that stem cells are used that determines the impact of stem cell research on the world. If stem cells are used to modify human subjects and the results of the experiments involve the suffering or death of the subject, then no matter for what purpose the experiment was intended for, the experiment is deemed unethical. However, if stem cells are used to save lives and help people, then the impact is positive and stem cell research should be continued. It is thus the duty of important and leading scientific organisations to regulate the flow of funds to stem cell research and monitor irs development. But we will not know if we do not try, and since it is human nature to be curious, to find out more, then we should go ahead with stem cell research for the betterment of mankind, unless its results indicate otherwise.

Scrap the CCTs - a bit the cliche, a bit the sensical

I completely support the stand the the CCTs should be scrapped.

The main reason is because CCTs are extremely stressful. Many students are forced to mug many many days before the CCT so as to increase their chances of getting high marks. In addition, the CCT questions are usually very tricky and difficult, so students are further pressed to mug harder. Students who mug hard will realise that they have not enough time to mug everything in both the textbook and notes, and this will further increase the stress levels of the students. The stress levels continue to rise during the CCT itself, as students are pressed for time to complete the questions within an extremely short period of one hour. Students who are stressed will experience depression and possibly nervous breakdowns. They may be driven to desperate measures, such as cheating, and in some extreme cases, usually to escape from such torture, commit suicide. An institution that forces its students to resort to dishonest tactics, instils constant fear in its students and kills its own students should definitely be banned or considered illegal in Singapore. Furthermore, these students who are driven to madness or suicide are among the brightest in the country, and this definitely contributes to the serious problem of 'brain drain' that Singapore is currently experiencing. As such, to prevent the banning or possible eradication of RI, the CCTs should be scrapped.