humanity intervention

Darwin states that man can methodically select the perfect greyhound by intervening in natural selection. this is that humans can now breed two things that are close enough to each other to create something. this has been around longer than Darwin had said it to be a thing but this is the first time that i can think of where humans intervention in the nature world is being written about. It also seems to me that this is very overlooked when considering humans place in the world. for we are the first species to “play god” in a sense of knowing that we are adopting other animals to our own advantages. this leaves me with a lot of questions. From Darwin’s time have we seen an evolution of the animals we call pets? another aspect that is connected to Darwin’s concept is the fact that animals are now being breed to have attributes that actually hurt them and can cause them to have serve issue in life. an example of this is a pug they struggle to breath solely because humans have breed them to look like that. For me this brings up an ethical question to this ability, when is modifying animals to far? why?

2 Replies to “humanity intervention”

  1. I think you raise a really interesting point, one that I hadn’t really considered when reading Darwin’s writing, but I now realize that this process (“playing God” as you called it) is really prevalent in society and has caused considerable harm to many. In addition to dogs being bred to either perform or look a certain way, there is also the way we breed different farm animals for food. Although this idea is not a new phenomenon, especially for livestock, with the scientific capabilities we have now, we are able to breed the animals to produce more food for humans but this comes with horrific consequences for the animals, like animals who are so large that their legs cannot support them. I wonder if you guys would consider different answers to these different uses of breeding and while I’m sure the nuances vary, I feel like because both have gotten to the extent they are right now, they are animal abuse and there should be a better form of oversight established. Do you agree?

  2. Personally, I believe that anytime individuals attempt to modify and “perfect” the natural world through the selective breeding of animals, this has dire consequences for all forms of life, including humans. For instance, the belief of “playing God” can lead individuals to change the makeup of animals by forcing one species with “desirable traits” to breed with another to create an “ideal” type. As a result of trying to create an “ideal animal,” the diversity of animals is reduced. Also, the extinction of animals with certain traits considered “inferior” in order to create an “ideal” can be has been and can be applied to humans. For instance, disturbing and disgusting practices, such as human eugenics, have been used with the intention of creating an “ideal” human by removing certain physical traits and races from existence through selective breeding practices and genetic modification. Since, it is impossible to discern whether individuals who believe in harmful ideologies about race, sex, or disabilities would attempt to create an “ideal” human by removing the existence of traits they define as “undesirable,” it is too risky to even promote the idea of selecting for “desirable” traits in animals.

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