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Popular Culture and Philosophy #102
Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA
In Orphan Black , several apparently unconnected women discover that they are exact physical doubles — they're illegally produced clones, and someone is having them killed. Law enforcement is powerless to help. The clones are forced to form their own Clone Club to defend themselves.
Orphan Black raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions. What makes a person unique? Should we have a say in whether we're cloned? Is it immoral to generate clones with built-in defects? What does the behavior of the Clone Club tell us about the nature-nurture debate? Is it relevant that most are heterosexual, one is a lesbian, and one is a transgendered male?
Orphan Black shows us problems of biotechnology that will soon be everyday issues. What kind of a future faces us when human clones are commonplace? Will groups of clones have a tight bond of solidarity, making them a threat to democracy? If the world is going to be taken over by an evil conspiracy, would a scientific cult like Neolution or a religious cult like the Prolethians be better? Should biotech corporations be able copyright human DNA? What rules of morality apply when you can’t trust the police?
Orphan Black raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions. What makes a person unique? Should we have a say in whether we're cloned? Is it immoral to generate clones with built-in defects? What does the behavior of the Clone Club tell us about the nature-nurture debate? Is it relevant that most are heterosexual, one is a lesbian, and one is a transgendered male?
Orphan Black shows us problems of biotechnology that will soon be everyday issues. What kind of a future faces us when human clones are commonplace? Will groups of clones have a tight bond of solidarity, making them a threat to democracy? If the world is going to be taken over by an evil conspiracy, would a scientific cult like Neolution or a religious cult like the Prolethians be better? Should biotech corporations be able copyright human DNA? What rules of morality apply when you can’t trust the police?
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2016
6 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 14, 2017
I was 2/3 of the way through watching all of Orphan Black when this book started stalking me at the library. It found itself a perch just one shelf down from the Minecraft books in non-fiction, which just happened to be exactly where I stood every few weeks while my kids combed the Minecraft section over, looking for new books, or at least books they hadn't memorized yet. It was inevitable that I checked this book out.
As it turned out, there is an entire pop culture and philosophy series, and after reading this one, I may have to put several others on my to-read list. This book was a collection of essays that were part obsessive fan theories (there were several moments where I thought, "Oh, that is what was happening there!") part social theory, part philosophy. Although there was little cohesion or coordination between essays, it did address a variety of interesting topics, from the purpose of life to the legality and ethics of patenting genetic information.
My favorite essay was the first, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," which addresses the complicated non-identity problem: Do future individuals have a moral case for injury if the act that caused them harm also resulted in their very existence? It's a tricky problem with a variety of implications and examples in the world of the show. It ends beautifully thus: "Our lives are fearfully and wonderfully made, by our own two hands, one day at a time."
The weakest essay was, for me, "Re: Production," which pretends to be redacted memoranda created by someone within one of the organizations (maybe NeoLution?) discussing projects Leda and Castor. The redactions were annoying and the memo implied interests and values in the clones that I find it hard to believe those in their supervisory organizations would have. Meh. Actually, I found "Dialogue with the Buddha" problematic as well.
Overall though, the collection was both fun and thought provoking. A great read.
As it turned out, there is an entire pop culture and philosophy series, and after reading this one, I may have to put several others on my to-read list. This book was a collection of essays that were part obsessive fan theories (there were several moments where I thought, "Oh, that is what was happening there!") part social theory, part philosophy. Although there was little cohesion or coordination between essays, it did address a variety of interesting topics, from the purpose of life to the legality and ethics of patenting genetic information.
My favorite essay was the first, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," which addresses the complicated non-identity problem: Do future individuals have a moral case for injury if the act that caused them harm also resulted in their very existence? It's a tricky problem with a variety of implications and examples in the world of the show. It ends beautifully thus: "Our lives are fearfully and wonderfully made, by our own two hands, one day at a time."
The weakest essay was, for me, "Re: Production," which pretends to be redacted memoranda created by someone within one of the organizations (maybe NeoLution?) discussing projects Leda and Castor. The redactions were annoying and the memo implied interests and values in the clones that I find it hard to believe those in their supervisory organizations would have. Meh. Actually, I found "Dialogue with the Buddha" problematic as well.
Overall though, the collection was both fun and thought provoking. A great read.
March 25, 2017
Light philosophy (to me at least) in the context of amazing sci-fi. I thought it was a great light read that will certainly lead onto some more reading (particularly Japanese philosophy - looks amazing!).
A lot of it isn't new, but some is definitely original. I would've appreciated greater cohesion between the many different texts, and some chapters were definitely better than others, but all round I would still recommend it. I learned a few things, I appreciated some new perspectives, and I'd definitely say to give it a read. It's not a 10/10, but it's worth it, and definitely accessible to those with no background in philosphy.
A lot of it isn't new, but some is definitely original. I would've appreciated greater cohesion between the many different texts, and some chapters were definitely better than others, but all round I would still recommend it. I learned a few things, I appreciated some new perspectives, and I'd definitely say to give it a read. It's not a 10/10, but it's worth it, and definitely accessible to those with no background in philosphy.
March 29, 2023
The quality in these pop culture and Phil books is really lacking. Either they need to get better editors or they need to get a better book runner (like a show runner, I suppose). Every book is plagued with the same issues: random grammar errors and repetitive essays/examples. The early books were good about highlighting various aspects of a topic, but in this one, like most, there are a couple examples rehashed throughout.
January 24, 2021
"Sarah Manning is
the free-thinking rebel; Beth Childs is the neurotic depres-sive; Helena is the religious zealot; Alison Hendrix is the re-pressed rule-follower; Cosima Niehaus is the intellectual
lesbian; Rachel Duncan is the calculating bitch; Tony is the
street-wise gender-iconoclast; and Crystal is the gullible girl
next-door."
the free-thinking rebel; Beth Childs is the neurotic depres-sive; Helena is the religious zealot; Alison Hendrix is the re-pressed rule-follower; Cosima Niehaus is the intellectual
lesbian; Rachel Duncan is the calculating bitch; Tony is the
street-wise gender-iconoclast; and Crystal is the gullible girl
next-door."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews