journal+entries

Richard Holmes is fascinated by what he calls "The Age of Wonder."The subtitle of his book is "how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and the terror of science," and he tells Steve Paulson about how Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" came directly out of the scientific climate of the time. media type="file" key="tbk100725a5.mp3" width="240" height="20"
 * media type="custom" key="27330622" || =** DOES THE MONSTER HAVE A SOUL? **=
 * Listen to the following podcast. **
 * Richard Holmes on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" **

Alternative link to the podcast: @http://ttbook.org/book/richard-holmes-mary-shelleys-frankenstein

How does the uncanny valley explain Victor Frankenstein's reaction to his creation? media type="custom" key="28325079" || **Why not seize this power? **
 * Answer in writing the following question: **
 * Richard Holmes, author of, //The Age of Wonder//, explores the debate over whether or not the monster in Shelly's novel //Frankenstein// has a soul. Does the monster have a soul? Support your response by responding to at least one of Homes' statements in the interview AND a quotation from Shelly's novel. ** ||
 * =THE UNCANNY VALLEY=

In his essay, **“Treading in God’s Domain”,** Lee M. Silver argues that nearly every culture has cautionary tales (Garden of Eden, Tower of Babel, Prometheus, etc.). He then asks, why is the line between the domain of humans and the domain of God been drawn at different places by different people? He ends his essay with the following statement:

Human essence came into existence simply because those with it could out-compete and kill those without it. But if human minds have the ability to contemplate and direct changes in the copies of their own genomes that they give to future generations, the human mind is much more that the genes that brought it into existence. While selfish genes do, indeed, control all other forms of life, master and slave have switched positions in human beings, who now have the power not only to control but to create new genes for themselves.

Why not seize this power? Why not control what has been left to chance in the past? Indeed, we control all other aspects of our children’s lives and identities through powerful social and environmental influences and, in some cases, with the use of powerful drugs like Ritalin or Prozac. On what basis can we reject positive genetic influences on a person’s essence when we accept the rights of parents to benefit their children in every other way? || regulate the creation of human organs in the laboratory? media type="youtube" key="BUi6NXrdB6k" height="225" width="400" ||
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 * media type="custom" key="27318382" || Journal Entry: What rules should be established to help
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 * =POEM RESPONSE: "THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US" BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH= ||