CGS-authored
Vol. 300, No. 5618
A review of James D. Watson, with Andrew Berry, DNA: The
Secret of Life (New York: Knopf, 2003), and Victor K. McElheny,
Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution (Cambridge,
MA: Perseus, 2003)
The time has come, in the world of James D. Watson, to leave behind societal fears of genetic technologies. It is time to start using germ-line genetic engineering to make people who are more intelligent, more attractive, and resistant to HIV. It is time to use genetically modified organisms to improve the environment and end world hunger. And it is time for everyone to contribute their DNA to databases, both private and public. Fortunately, there is no need to worry too much about abuse, injustice, commodification, technical error, or social stratification grounded in biological difference. Such worries are groundless because science shows that people are biologically inclined to care about one another and to care about building a good society. The Bible also mentions how important human love is.
Despite their propensity for caring, of course, people are often fanatical, unscientific, ignorant, dishonest...