Well this is certainly a very good example, I’ll happily admit as much. Without wanting to be guilty of the True Scotsman fallacy though—Human Cloning is a bit of a special case because it has a very visceral “ickiness” factor… and comes with a unique set of deep feelings and anxieties.
But imagine, if you will, that tomorrow we find the secret to immortality. Making people immortal would bring with it at least two thirds of the same issues that are associated with human cloning… yet it is near-certain any attempts to stop that invention from proliferating are doomed to failure; everybody would want it, even though it technically has quite a few of the types of consequences that cloning would have.
So, yes, agreed—we did pre-emptively deal with human cloning, and I definitely see this as a valid response to my challenge… but I also think we both can tell it is a very special, unique case that comes with most unusual connotations :)
Well this is certainly a very good example, I’ll happily admit as much. Without wanting to be guilty of the True Scotsman fallacy though—Human Cloning is a bit of a special case because it has a very visceral “ickiness” factor… and comes with a unique set of deep feelings and anxieties.
But imagine, if you will, that tomorrow we find the secret to immortality. Making people immortal would bring with it at least two thirds of the same issues that are associated with human cloning… yet it is near-certain any attempts to stop that invention from proliferating are doomed to failure; everybody would want it, even though it technically has quite a few of the types of consequences that cloning would have.
So, yes, agreed—we did pre-emptively deal with human cloning, and I definitely see this as a valid response to my challenge… but I also think we both can tell it is a very special, unique case that comes with most unusual connotations :)