Just Because We Can, Should We?

1. Just Because We Can, Should We? Frankenstein Revisited

2. From Jurassic Park • Scene at beginning of movie: Dr. Ian Malcolm, shocked at the arrogance of bringing back dinosaurs, says, “But the real question is: just because we can, should we?” 20 minute video clip. Starting at Ch #5 from video menu.

3. Creations should not be abandoned. (Quick write #1) • Argue the following: a creator should be responsible for nurturing his/her creation. Creations should not be abandoned. • Is this always true? If so, why? Use examples. • Is this not always true? If so, why not? Use examples.

4. What is a “creation”? • The result of the human act of creating offspring • To “beget”

5. What is a “creation”? • an artifact that has been brought into existence by someone

6. What is a “creation”? • Something that is created in the laboratory, as creatures singly or in aggregate

7. What is a “creation”? • Something that is created, like an original work of art. • an original product of the mind, especially an imaginative artistic work: the creations of a poetic genius.

8. What is a “creation”? • Something that is created, likea new unusually striking article of clothing • A specially designed dress, hat, or other article of women's clothing, usually distinguished by imaginative or unique styling: the newest Paris creations.

9. What is a “creation”? • The Creation, the original bringing into existence of the universe by God/god/gods • Victor Frankenstein, acting as God, bringing the creature into existence.

10. The Creature/ Monster • A creature is an organism. The term is derived from the widespread historical belief that all such things were created, as by a deity or deities. The word is generally used to refer to non-human animals but does include humans.

11. Why does society reject the ugly and deformed? (Quick write #2) • It is virtually impossible not to formulate some kind of opinion about an individual from just his/her appearance. • People are conditioned to expect different kinds of behavior from different groups in society.

14. The way they look can indicate their belonging to a particular ethnic group, subculture, or class; their gender; and how attractive they are perceived to be.

15. People would like to think that they treat everyone they meet fairly and are not influenced by appearances, but it is virtually impossible to avoid making preliminary judgments about other individuals.

16. It is therefore clear that going by appearances can be problematic, but at the same time the assumptions individuals make are often shaped by the society in which they live. • It is not an individual's fault if they believe that teenagers who wear tracksuit bottoms and hooded tops, have their heads shaved and lots of tattoos are thugs and likely to pounce on them.

17. Yet, a person's reaction to such a group may change according to the situation. • A teacher who encounters such a group in a classroom is hardly likely to respond in the same way as an elderly individual walking down a dark alley and confronted by a gang of youths.

18. It is an unavoidable fact that people constantly judge others by their appearance, especially when encountering strangers, and that these judgments are informed by wider society's expectations and beliefs, as well as the context within which people connect.

19. However, the fact that a person judges another by their appearance is not as negative as deciding to act upon these judgments and thus to discriminate against them for failing to conform to their own particular world view.

20. Perhaps it is just a natural reaction humans have in the struggle of self-preservation that makes us delineate ourselves from the rest, but it only creates more problems for us in the long run. • By not having the ability to look past an appearance we create eating disorders, racism, segregation, and a host of all different kinds of neurotic behaviors that breed suspicion and a false sense of self worth, good or bad.

21. Time and again we are fooled by the way someone looks; we give are attention to those who are beautiful, but who have nothing else to give; we placate the ravenous ambitions of those who are dressed in the banner of authority by readily handing over our rights; and we give our complete trust to those dressed to help us, but who only see us as units of profit.

22. Beauty is in the eye—and the heart– of the beholder.

23. Quick write #3 • Is the desire for knowledge dangerous? Why or why not?

24. Quick write #4 • Is killing for the purpose of revenge justifiable? Consider not only acts of “street vengeance,” but government acts as well—war, covert operations, capital punishment.

25. Moral philosophy • In simple terms, morality is the right or wrong (or otherwise) of an action, a way of life or a decision, while ethics is the study of such standards as we use or propose to judge such things. • Thus abortion may be moral or immoral according to the code we employ but ethics tells us why we call it so and how we made up our minds. As a result, ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy; we use it to criticize, defend, promote, justify and suggest moral concepts and to answer questions of morality, such as:

26. How should we live and treat one another? • What are the definitions for right and wrong? • How can we know or decide? • Where do our ethical ideas come from? • What are rights? Who or what has them? • Should we coerce one another? • Can we find an ethical system that applies to everyone? • What do we mean by duty, justice and other similar concepts?

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28. Ethical Dilemma # 1 • In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. the drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. • Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not? • Is it actually right or wrong for him to steal the drug? • Why is it right or wrong?

29. Ethical Dilemma #2 & #3 • Question 1: If you knew a woman who had 8 kids already, three who are deaf, two who are blind and one who is mentally handicapped, the woman has syphilis and is now pregnant, would you recommend that she have an abortion? Why? Explain in a paragraph. • Question 2: It is time to elect a new world leader, and only YOUR vote counts. Here are the brief facts about the three candidates. • Candidate AHe associates with crooked politicians, and consults with an astrologist. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. Very full of his own vision and ideas. An action man who can be cynical of others. • Candidate B He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer, is passionate about his beliefs, and never cheated on his wife. Cares deeply for his country but tends to be dictatorial. Likes running the show and can be ruthless. • Candidate C He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening. He is regarded as arrogant, irritable and uncharitable. Peers used to regard him as more bravado than brawn. • Which of these candidates would be your choice? Why? Explain in a paragraph.

30. Answers • Candidate A is.... Franklin D. Roosevelt Candidate B is.... Adolph Hitler Candidate C is.... Winston Churchill • Regarding your answer to the abortion question: If you said YES, you would have just killed Ludwig Van Beethoven!

31. Dilemma #4 • Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to go to camp, and a little more besides. But just before camp was going to start, his father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Joe's father was short of the money it would cost. So he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe didn't want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money. • 1. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money? 1a. Why or why not? • 2. Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money? • 2a. Why or why not? • 3. Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son? • 3a. Why or why not? • 4. Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation? • 4a. Why or why not? • 5. The father promised Joe he could go to camp if he earned the money. Is the fact that the father promised the most important thing in the situation? • 5a. Why or why not? • 6. What do you think is the most important thing a father should be concerned about in his relationship to his son? • 6a. Why is that the most important thing? • 7. In general, what should be the authority of a father over his son? • 7a. Why? • 8. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship to his father? • 8a. Why is that the most important thing? • 9. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Joe to do in this situation? • 9a. Why?

32. Just Because We Can, Should We?Research/Opinion Paper • Length: 3-5 pages typed, double-spaced. • Sources: 3 minimum • Identify a social issue you want to research. You will be researching both the pros and cons of this issue. Collect at least three pieces of evidence from magazines, newspapers, periodicals, books, and the Internet. Reports from radio and television programs are also acceptable. The position paper has to present the pros and cons of the issue, as well as your opinion, and how you reached that opinion. • PARAGRAPH #1: • Introduction (make it interesting!) –10 points • Choose one of the following ways to begin your paper. • Use startling statistics • Begin with “Imagine.” (Imagine waking up in the morning, and walking into the kitchen and discovering your clone already making breakfast.) • Use a real news story. • Use a created story.

33. PARAGRAPH #2: • Explain what your topic is and why you are researching it. Use transition words and phrases to link ideas. • PARAGRAPH #3: • Define Terms—10 points • Do not assume your readers know what liposuction, cloning, or cryogenics is. Define any medical or scientific terms after your introduction

34. PARAGRAPHS #4-5 (or more) • Body of your paper—35 points • Include 1-2 paragraphs on the positive aspects of the issue you are discussing and 1-2 paragraphs on the negative aspects. • Cite your sources using MLA format • After each quote or paraphrase, include a source citation using MLA format. • Example: • Maybe instead of asking, “Is cloning possible?” we should be asking, “Is it ethical?” Dr. Richard Kuhlman of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center says in the magazine InsanePractices, “This goes against God and nature, and the backlash will be quite severe” (116). • But Dr. Stan Markley of Harvard’s Medical School says cloning will only improve society. “Can you imagine what the future will be like if cloning is used for the good of mankind?” (Journal of Medical Aberrations, 229). • Steve Harkowtiz, professor of medical ethics at Stanford, agrees that cloning is the wave of the future. “We must keep the ethical nature of cloning on the front burner. At the same time, we cannot allow concerns for its abuse to deter us from using it at all.” (216)

35. PARAGRAPH #6: • Include Your Opinions—20 points • Explain what your opinions were before conducting the research, whether or not those opinions changed, which researchers you agree with and why you agree with them. • PARAGRAPH #7: • Conclusion—10 points • Connect your conclusion back to your introduction, then summarize briefly your overall findings. • Example:So if your idea of the perfect clone is someone who makes breakfast for you and does your homework, you can know see how unlikely that scenario is. Your clone would not be an adult-sized “you,” but would start out as a baby. There are many ethical concerns about this medical miracle, and that’s why I believe there should not be any human cloning. 

36. Works-Cited Page—15 points • Include a bibliography with the sources you used in your story. As you collect your research, make sure you write down article name, author name, date of publication, full website address, publishing house (if applicable), and any other information that you will need for the bibliography.

37. Day-by-day. . . • March 2 • Video clip of Jurassic Park—just because we can, should we? 20 minutes • Quick write choices --20 minutes • Syllabus for Research Unit • Princess Quiz • Brainstorm Topics • March 4 • Ethical Question of the Day • Choose topic. Discuss full-sentence outline. • March 9 • LIBRARY. • EQ #2 • Write paragraph #1 and #2 for paper • March 11 • RESEARCH #1 & #2 DUE • Work on full sentence outlines in class./Share full sentence outlines with group • Write paragraph #3—define terms • EQ#3 • March 15 • LIBRARY • EQ#4 • Rewrite first three paragraphs

38. Day-by-day (con’t) • March 17 • Add 2-3 paragraphs of pro arguments • March 21 • LIBRARY • Add 2-3 paragraphs of negative arguments • March 23 • LIBRARY • Add your opinion to the paper • March 25 • Bring rough draft for peer review • March 29 • Group “A” presents papers • ALL PAPERS DUE TODAY • March 31 • Group “B” presents papers • Assignments • Frankenstein test (50) • Research (10 points each) • Full sentence outline (15) • Rough Draft #1 (25) • Ethical Questions (5) • Final Research Paper (100)