Term Papers on Matt Ridley And Genetic Engineering

Term Paper Title	Matt Ridley And Genetic Engineering
# of Words	645
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.58

Matt Ridley and Genetic Engineering
PHIL 102 A

Homework 2

In his article title “The New Eugenics,” addressing the regulation of genetic engineering, Matt Ridley presents three arguments against restrictive policies, and then responds to what he deems to be the fallacy of each. Although his final conclusion is one I agree with, his arguments seem shallow, vague, and do not do a very good job supporting his opinion.

One objection to the genetic engineering of humans that Ridley chooses to point out is the implication that the cost of the procedure would create a greater class barrier between those who could afford it and those that could not. The richest members of society would have access to the best genetic enhancements, while those who can’t afford it would have to leave things to chance. Broadening the gap between social classes this way can only lead to more discrimination.

Ridley argues that this is not the case. He responds by stating that genetic engineering would need to become commonplace before this would even be an issue, and that even if it were available, the procedure, which would involve in vitro fertilization, would be painful, exhausting and less desirable to most. He assumes that genetic engineering would attract only a very small clientele.

If his response that problems will arise only if the treatment becomes widely available, then I would argue that Ridley has made no real argument at all. I’m sure there was a time when people thought plastic surgery was a ridiculous idea. Why would anyone want to go through the pain and discomfort experienced after having a face-lift or breast implants? And yet million of women, especially young American women, go through some kind of cosmetically enhancing procedure every year. It is a practice that has become so widely accepted in our beauty and youth obsessed society, that we glamorize it by having a show called “Extreme M...

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