h people seem to forget in their excitement of increasing genetic knowledge. Although I agree with Callahan, I want to point out that genetic knowledge in itself must not be made out to be pure, holy and without fault, but that genetic knowledge in itself can cause a society to become racist and discriminatory. What if it is found that aggressive behavior is found to genetically exist in African Americans? Wont that make society a bit more racist to African Americans? I understand Callahans worry of the kind of society we want to become and how that affects the use of genetic knowledge, but I also think that Callahan needs to address the faults in genetic knowledge because of the racism and discrimination it can bring to a society.Callahan asks the question of what kind of society (soil) is most likely be hazardous and introduces three patterns: 1) societies that demonize death and illness; 2) those societies that want to find biological solutions to social problems; and 3) societies with postmodern theory that there is no common social good, only a plurality of individual goods. Why are these patterns hazardous? First, with fear of death and disease and turning it into the greatest human enemy comes the temptation to do whatever we can to root them out. Death and illness becomes so unacceptable to the ambitious science that we will use genetic knowledge in a fierce and unforgiving way to perfect the human condition (Callahan in T&K, 18). This is a slippery slope issue here because we will not be able to accept handicapped, sick, and less than perfect humans and use genetic technology to make sure they do not exist. Second, the drive for social control will lead into us medicalizing social deviancy and then as Callahan argues, use the bug gun of genetics to cure them (Callahan in T&K, 19). Why is this so dangerous? I think its because we lose the sense of becoming a compassionate society of dealing with death and illness and instead we...
