Bringing the Issue "Full Circle"
(with the circular motion
provided by Ryne Tate)
How does the issue of stem cells fit into the mission statement of our group, the Brain Trust?
Our collective presentation will incorporate how nature optimizes organisms’ reproduction and survival success. Furthermore, we will discuss the ways in which humans have developed processes in order to improve their lot in life through mean of cell manipulation. We hope to provide a better understanding of the machinery of life and the human quest to attain the ideal.
Stem cells fit into the description of "the process of developing ways to improve their lot in life through means of cell manipulation". By researching and developing treatments using stem cells, scientists are trying to improve the human condition.
Through my presentation, and through the information contained on this website, my hope was to provide a background and an understanding of stem cells to enable listeners and readers to develop their own educated opinions on the topic of stem cells.
Though the topic of stem cell research is politically charged, my hope was to present some of the science behind stem cell technology to better inform my listeners. I feel that many of the presentations in our group were striving for the same goal.
How does stem cell research fit into the theme of our course, Honors 210-The Ideal?
"This course will explore views on what it means to be an optimal organism, a superior species, a perfect plant, an ideal individual. Together, we will examine the machinery of life and answer the question, “what makes us more than the sum of our parts?” The majority of the course will be dedicated to studying humans and our quest to become “the ideal.” Advances in science and medicine have created new paths to attain the “ideal” and satisfy our deepest human desires: perfect health, superior performance, younger bodies, happy souls, better children, and more. How we with modern science and medicine are engaged in fulfilling human desires will be discussed in class, studied at off campus sites, and experienced through hands-on activities. Technical, moral, ethical, social, and legal challenges that accompany the quest for “the ideal” will be studied and debated throughout the course."
This course was designed to stimulate our minds to ponder questions about human perfection. While considering the views that we have about perfection and the ideal human, one large area to consider is our strive to achieve such a perfection. This is where the role of stem cell technology comes into play. Stem cells promise to be a great instrument in advancing the medical field to help treat diseases and conditions that humans once felt were untreatable. By using the promise of stem cell technology, the human condition will only improve, bringing the human race just that much closer to the ideal. In class, I'm fairly positive that we concluded that the ideal human was unattainable (for various reasons including God, nature, our minds, etc.), but we, as humans, will continue on the quest to become just that much closer to perfection. Stem cell technology is just one scientific promise that will keep humans striving for better, more perfect, lives.
This website was created by a student for a Monmouth College course