This blog post explores the new humans born through genetic engineering and the resulting social and ethical issues. Are we truly prepared to bear the consequences?
Historically, humans were considered divine creations. Since humans built civilization around 3500 BCE, for roughly half a millennium, humans viewed themselves as someone’s creation. This claim was gradually supplanted by evolutionary theory around the 19th century when Charles Darwin described ‘The Origin of Species’. ‘On the Origin of Species’ posits that all life forms acquired their present forms through evolution. That life forms evolved from dust-like cells implies, in essence, that life is not God’s creation but time’s. Thus, when humanity rejected creationism and embraced evolution, it effectively abandoned the notion of being a divine creation. In other words, humanity refused to be someone’s creation.
Now, humans seek to create new life. In the past, human efforts to improve life forms were limited to natural improvement through breeding. Today, attempts to improve life forms by directly manipulating genes are ongoing. While the scope remains confined to relatively small organisms like bacteria and mice, humans may soon begin tampering with their own genes.
However, we must pose a crucial question here. Is it ethically justifiable for humans to manipulate their own genes? Genetic manipulation could transcend mere biological alteration and become an act that changes the essence of humanity. Genetic modifications to enhance human intelligence or maximize physical capabilities carry the potential to further deepen social inequality. Would the new humans born through such manipulation truly possess equal rights to existing humans? Or should they be excluded from the category of ‘human’?
Furthermore, what kind of social structure would emerge if genetic manipulation became widespread? The conflict between a new human race possessing superior intelligence and physical abilities and the current human race lacking these traits has the potential to go beyond simple competition and shake the very foundations of society. If economic and social inequality becomes justified by biological differences, humanity risks entering a new class society. In such a society, the new humans might form an elite class and dominate the current human population. This situation would likely lead to new forms of discrimination and oppression between humans, inevitably increasing the potential for violent conflict.
One intriguing experiment related to genetic manipulation involves enhancing intelligence through genetic modification. According to a 1999 paper published in Nature, it was possible to enhance the intelligence of mice through genetic manipulation. Therefore, manipulating human genes could potentially give rise to a more intelligent human species. While no genetic manipulation experiments have been conducted on humans yet, there is no guarantee such experiments will never occur in the future. If genetic manipulation experiments continue, there will come a point where humans could become the test subjects. And we know the effects altered genes have on organisms. Genetically modified plants are resistant to pests and diseases and yield higher harvests. If human genes were modified, intelligence could increase, lifespans could lengthen, and physical capabilities could be enhanced.
How would this new human species, created from the current human race, view the present humans? To answer that question, we need only look at how humans, who evolved from apes, view apes today. Do humans worship monkeys simply because they evolved from them? No. They merely regard them as zoo exhibits. The relationship between the new humans and current humans would likely be similar. The new humans, being superior, would look down on current humans. Current humans will feel inferior to the new humans, their own creations. If mutual respect erodes and resentment builds, this could ultimately lead to war between the two. Just as humans rejected being God’s creations, the new humans might reject being creations of current humans and confront the very humans who made them.
So how would this war between species end? Einstein once said that in World War IV, stones and sticks would be the weapons. This implies that by the time World War III erupts, humanity will possess the capability to completely destroy its own civilization. Even now, humanity possesses weapons capable of achieving total self-annihilation. The weapons mobilized in a war erupting in the distant future will also possess sufficient power to erase civilization from the Earth. To achieve victory in war, both sides will use these terrifyingly powerful weapons, and what remains afterward will be a victory of wounds alone. Or perhaps only uninhabited ruins will remain. Whichever scenario unfolds, it seems difficult for present humanity to avoid extinction.
Genetic engineering has already gained momentum, and stemming this torrent seems difficult. At some point, genetically engineered new humans might stand beside us. The new humans we create could become daggers aimed at our own throats, and those daggers would be sharp enough to annihilate humanity.
