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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
A More Modern Prometheus: What Frankenstein Tells Us About Genetic Modification, Allison M. Ambrose
A More Modern Prometheus: What Frankenstein Tells Us About Genetic Modification, Allison M. Ambrose
Honors College Theses
Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein, is often hailed as the first true science fiction novel. In my thesis, I use the premonitive lens towards creation of life provided in Frankenstein to evaluate the morality of genetic modification of children. CRISPR-Cas9 is quickly emerging as the most important development in reprogenetic technology of our time, and many argue for its merits as a method of designing our children. I argue against this trend of “designer babies,” specifically raising questions about the soundness of modifying non-disease traits in future children and encouraging a more cautious attitude in both the scientific and philosophical …
Morality From Meaninglessness In Simone De Beauvoir's "The Ethics Of Ambiguity", Victoria L. Riggs
Morality From Meaninglessness In Simone De Beauvoir's "The Ethics Of Ambiguity", Victoria L. Riggs
Honors College Theses
In her book The Ethics of Ambiguity, French existentialist writer Simone de Beauvoir delves into the human condition and the possibilities for morality that arise from her understanding of such. Beginning with the assumption that there is no externally objective meaning or value to humanity, Beauvoir presents humanity as fundamentally free to create meaning and values for themselves. Beauvoir argues that humans are all simultaneously free to choose, yet limited in our choice by the facts of our situations, a paradoxical state of being she labels as our fundamental ambiguity. It is because of this ambiguity, she asserts, that …