52 replies to this topic

[pyke]

I'd love to have clones of myself. xD

[hunkychunkgoat]

The question is whether or not it would have a soul. And that would be a matter of opinion, because as of right now, there is no way to scientifically pinpoint a soul and determine who has one and who doesn't. =P

And Tetiel is right about the DNA aging process. There would be no real reason to have clones, past incomplete cloning for organs. Your organ may be just as old, but a healthy organ is better than an unhealthy one. But it would be stupid to clone people unless you found a way to stop the DNA aging process - and at that point, what would be the point of cloning? We can reproduce well enough on our own without a need for creating identical copies of existing people through an artificial process.

But wait, wait! There is a good use for clones, no matter their status on the spiritual level. Star Wars had it right, to a point. Clones would be a warlord's army. =P Pick a physically talented young man, make some clones. They may be older than the original when they mature, but if everything is in order, they should still be viable soldiers. THAT is the stuff science fiction is made of, because that would be a real world purpose that only a mad dictator would use.

People go, "Oh, that's science fiction, no one would really do that." Uh huh. Hitler did a lot of things that were science fiction at the time. =P If you have the money, the power, and no ethical qualms...then hell...why not?

And the thing is, even if we halted the science of cloning right now, eventually someone will come along and have the right people to figure out how to do it (if it can be done). So it's a bit of a lose-lose situation. Develop the technology and hope it doesn't get stolen, or stop developing the technology and have no idea how to counteract it when someone DOES eventually develop it?

That's the question, and honestly, I don't know what the answer is. No one wants to be behind in technology, no matter the ethical consequences of it.

well that is the main point. i did a paper on this...if cloning was made legalized it would only be alowed to clone "body's without minds". it wouldnt really be a human in a pathalogical sense but in a literal sense it would. these would then be used for organ transplants that would save many people in the world.