NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Like the title suggests, Lee M. Silvers essay Cloning Misperceptions, touches on a very controversial topic. In very recent history the process of cloning has been in the back of many of our minds. Setbacks such as politics, religion, and the uncertainty of our own morals have hindered the process of cloning from becoming an everyday reality. In Cloning Misperceptions, Silver discusses the possible outcomes of clones in different societies by exploring previously posed scenarios from books, movies, and factual events, as well as some of his own. Silvers overall effort is to get people away from the common stereotypes of cloning and educate them on the reality of cloning and the effects it would have on us.
One of the first stereotypes Silver tries to get us away from is the definition of cloning and the way people perceive it. Its a horrendous crime to make a Xerox (copy) of someone. (Rottenberg, p. 224) The quote refers to the belief that cloning will result in a society consisting of endless copies of the same person. Although this would be a valid point if it were true, it is not the case. To support his argument, Silver uses a popular movie as a reference to show why people might have this notion. To further advocate his point, he gives an accurate but understandable explanation of what cloning is. Silver sums up his idea by stating his own opinion.
Once again, it is the inability of many people to appreciate the difference between the two meanings of life that is the cause of confusion. (Rottenberg, p. 224) He uses this to reinforce the fact that cloning is more than just making a copy of something (a fact he uses throughout the essay). It is also a notion to think that if a person is cloned, then they will not be as good as the original (much like an audiotape). Along with this comes the question of weather or not the clone would have a soul. In his next argument, Silver tries to get people away from these. Again Silver gives references to a couple of movies and a book where clones play the role of exact copies of their original.
To add to the list he brings in the religious view of cloning by quoting a rabbi and priest. Can cloning create a soul? Can Scientists create the soul that would make the being ethical, moral, caring, loving, all the things we attribute humanity to? (Rottenberg, p. 225) This is the argument brought on by different religions and Silver corrects this by giving scientific but completely understandable facts. Adding his own knowledge at the end of this particular argument helps to persuade his audience. The political view on cloning is also present in Silvers essay. He brings it into play by using The Brave New World Scenario by Aldous Huxley.
He uses this particular scenario because it has played a role in he cloning controversy before. Written in 1946, the scenario suggests that clones would make up different societies in the future and that most if not all societies would be totalitarian. Silvers argument is that in todays world it is not likely that any governments will choose to clone. The reality is that there really are no totalitarian governments and that using clones would be obsolete anyway. Any government that could clone would certainly get more fighting power out of high-tech weapons of destruction than even the most muscular and obedient soldier clones. (Rottenberg, p. 227) Why should we spend all that time, effort, and money to produce an army of clones when we can just nuke our enemies from thousands of miles away with just the push of a button? Silver himself is a college professor of molecular biology at Princeton University, giving him the credibility needed to discuss the cloning issue.
Silver chooses to talk about cloning for the benefit of others. He only wants to clarify to people the truth about cloning and get them away from the common misperceptions. He does a good job of this throughout his essay, using references from movies, literature and direct quotations. Although he makes his points known, Silver may have been able to make a bigger impact had he used more of his own knowledge.
Being a qualified expert on the subject, he should use more of his own insight to help his audience to understand. The people that Silver is trying to reach do not consist just of scientists and other people in or around the area of cloning, but also the average person. Unfortunately, most of Silvers audience is already against the idea of cloning which makes it more difficult for him to persuade them otherwise. With such a wide range of people, the essay cannot sound like a medical journal. Silver realizes this and so much of the scientific mumbo-jumbo is substituted for terminology that you and I can understand. Some of the details may be lost because of this, but the main points are still there.
The tone Silver uses does not sound like an attack on his audience, but rather a down-to-earth sound. Instead of using a negative tone like that of Jacob Neusner in his essay The Speech the Graduates Didnt Hear, (Rottenberg, p. 268) Silver relates well to his audience and explains to them in plain English what cloning is. This makes the reader comfortable and gives them a desire to keep reading. He does a good job of summing up his arguments by giving a brief explanation of why people have that certain perception. Ruling governments this extreme are rare at the end of the twentieth century. But even if one did emerge, it is hard to imagine why it would want to clone people. (Rottenberg, p. 226) Statements like these not only sum up one idea well, but also provide a good transition from one paragraph to another.
Some of the actual words used in the essay help to get his ideas into our heads as well. First, only an extremely controlling totalitarian state would have the ability to enslave women en masse to act as surrogate mothers for babies that would be forcibly removed and raised by the state. (Rottenberg, p. 226) The term enslave women en masse really helps to paint a mental picture in the readers head. Throughout the essay we are exposed to both sides of the story and Silvers techniques help to clarify truth from misperception.
Free research essays on topics related to: cloning, process of cloning, rottenberg, good job, silver
Research essay sample on Common Misperceptions About Cloning
