The age old dilemma - science or ethics?

Here I am, sitting in front of a screen right after turning the last page of Dan Brown's latest book - Inferno. And as a fan of Dan Brown's writing, I must say that this book is right up there with all his other books. Right from the page 1, where we read about the 'Shade' running through Florence, the book has kept me in a tight grip, travelling along with Robert Langdon (third time lucky with the Harvard's Art professor), who is accompanied this time by Sienne Brooks (a doctor with an off-the-chart IQ), in his latest heart-thumping, mind-boggling adventure through the streets of Florence, all the way to Venice and then to the Hagia Sophia in Turkey. A strong recommendation to all the Dan Brown fans out there!

This book, like all the other books that he has written, is not just about the adrenaline and nerves. This is another treasure trove of information, as every few chapters introduces us to something new and exciting. While it was the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, and the number Pi (something which I personally am very thankful for) in his book The Da Vinci code, he introduced us to the Illuminati, CERN and antimatter in his book Angels and Demons. With the Inferno, he takes us through Dantes Divine Comedy,  through the 9 stages of hell, and talks about stuff like Transhumanism and post-humans along the way. It is this last part which interested me a great deal, and about which I intend to focus on in this post.

A quick google search gave me a lot of information on Transhumanism. For those readers who have not heard of this (which I am guessing are quite a few in number) and who would rather read about it in this post than on google (which I really am hoping is very few - come on guys, open a new browser window and read about it a little, this post is always here), here is a very brief idea about it.
Copied directly from wikipedia, it says "Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities." Sounds pretty complicated, huh? What this basically means is that scientists are now toying around with technology, hoping to alter the human genetic makeup to create a new species (currently dubbed post-humans) which has superior intellect and strength. This seems like something straight out of a science fiction book, eh?! Somebody has been taking the X-men way too seriously!

As astonishing as the subject sounds, this area is being researched extensively. However, the main concern with this is that it is on the very edge (or some might say that it has crossed the boundary) of what people think is ethical. The rate of advancement of technology has been so phenomenal in the past few decades, that it has been impossible for a normal human to come to terms with the moral implications of some of these. What has been the stuff of movies and fantasy books is now being turned to reality, and any change this radical always come with some opposition. And like every other major breakthrough, this comes with its own set of pros and cons. If given a chance, who would not want to be superman? Wouldn't the world be a much better place to live in, if it was devoid of diseases and infections, where man uses his extra-ordinary abilities for the good of everything around? On the other hand, as pointed out in the book Inferno, wouldn't this bring about a wider gap between the rich and the poor, wherein the rich can afford such a costly procedure making them 'post-humans' while the poor are forced to suffer at their hands? Is it really in man's hands to accelerate evolution, something which, until now, only nature could perfect? Darwin's theory will have to be re-written, as 'Survival of the Fittest' just does not seem to be enough in this scenario.

The biggest concern here is that it might not be long before we have to start giving definitive answers to the questions posed. We are entering a point of no return, and unless the entirety of the human race is ready to take a stance, things may well go out of control. Just for the moment, imagine that we are at this turning point in history. Which side would you be on? Always a hard question to answer, but answer you must, because as Dante has said in the Divine Comedy - "The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

As always, signing off with a smile, a wink and a bow.

Enigmatically yours,

VAH