Meleiah Dusack

Professor Pintos

ARHU 123-004

2-25-2004

Frankenstein and Bioethics

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The 1818 text and the article “A Scientific Ethical Divide

Between China and West” both raise the question of at what point does science overstep what it

means to be human? With new studies and new technology, we have the ability to alter human

beings. In saying that, we don’t always know what the outcome will be until it is too late.

Amplifying a human beyond human qualities is where the line is crossed. Victor Frankenstein’s

creation of the monster, without a doubt, overstepped the line of bioethics far beyond what any

human should achieve.

Frankenstein is the story of a misunderstood and somewhat mad scientist who is

infatuated with the pursuit of knowledge. He creates his own form of life from the body parts of

deceased humans. When the creature comes to life, Dr. Frankenstein is so appalled by his

creation that he immediately flees the scene and abandons the monster. The creature has the

qualities of a human being – intelligence, the ability to read and reason, and the ability to feel

emotion. Yet is not recognized or accepted by society because of his appearance. Outraged, the

creature sets out for revenge, strangling Victor’s brother and framing their maid for the crime

which ultimately sentences her to death. Next, he kills Dr. Frankenstein’s friend and eventually

ends the life of his beloved bride. Dr. Frankenstein retaliates and dedicates the rest of his life to

avenging his loved ones by trying to kill the monster.

 “Scientific Ethical Divide Between China and West”, by Didi Kristen Tatlow, focuses on

the question of whether medical researchers in China are overstepping ethical boundaries long

accepted in the West. Dr. Huang Junjiu published the results of an experiment in editing the

genes of human embryos. The article gives the ethical perspective of Dr. Rao Yi and Dr. Zhai

Xiaomei on how they perceive the experiment.

As stated before, Dr. Frankenstein was so obsessed with obtaining new knowledge about

science that he did not consider the consequences of what his creations might lead to. Mr. Yi

expressed, “We’re going to do it, then see what’s wrong, then fix it. But the conceptual

discussion may be missing.” (Tatlow). He is referring to that being the problem; how there is an

ethical requirement to think about possible consequences before acting, or in this case

experimenting. “During my first experiment, a kind of enthusiastic frenzy had blinded me to the

horror of my employment; my mind was intently fixed on the sequel of my labour, and my eyes

were shut to the horror of my proceedings” (Shelly, pg.138). Victor is looking back on the

situation and realizes he did not think about the potential issue. He is now suffering because of

his creation. He is scolding himself because he failed to think of the possible outcomes.

The tradition of science Is based on what people allow, known as ethics. “Ethics are a

question of culture, and that is about tradition, especially where it touches on human life.”

(Tatlow). The article is saying to not change scientific practices because traditional ethical

thoughts do not allow them. Dr. M. Krempe is a professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt,

which is the school Victor attended. “I little expected in this enlightened and scientific age to

find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus. My dear Sir, you must begin your stud- ies

entirely anew [sic]” (Shelly, pg.28). Dr. M. Krempe is scolding Dr. Frankenstein for reading
about nontraditional philosophers and going as far as to suggest resetting his studies. He is

critiquing the type of thinking that leads to nontraditional aspects. Both quotes rely on the

importance of tradition, and when creating the monster Victor ignores traditional ethics, and thus

his action is unethical.

There is a fine line for what is reasonable to be crossed when using science to altercate a

human. “The state does set limits, Ms. Deng said: “Our ‘red line’ here is that you can only

experiment on embryos that are younger than 14 days old” (Tatlow). The state has set certain

qualifications for embryos that are not fully developed yet, so how would it be okay to create an

entirely new creature from deceased human beings? “I thought with a sensation of madness on

my promise of creating another like to him, and, trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing

on which I was engaged. (Shelly pg.140). Even Victor himself believes that he has crossed that

line and does not want to be responsible for the outcome of the new creature. In both, they are

drawing a line that neither one of them will cross.

Dr. Frankenstein’s actions in Frankenstein are beyond unethical. He ignored the

outcome his research would cause, he disregarded previous ethical philosophies, and he crossed

a line that scientists cannot. While these events are fictional, the real-world actions of Dr. Huang

Junjiu show how this debate has possible consequences for how medical treatment will develop.

As a result of Frankenstein, these actions are unethical and should be avoided.

 References

“Scientific Ethical Divide Between China and West”, by Didi Kristen Tatlow

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/30/science/a-scientific-ethical-divide-between-china-and-
west.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The 1818 text