58 replies to this topic

[Byzantine]

So I know transhumanism is wrong, but were Captain America's modifications morally impermissible? My guess was that they were actually acceptable, given that the serum only augmented what was already there instead of actually changing him. Get where I'm going with that?

[Ice_nine]

lol huh?

[kujo]

Is using HGH and other muscle-enhancing supplements morally permissible? The Super Soldier Serum is basically the same thing, though certainly on a far greater, and fictitious, level.

[jaime]

I don't think they would let him in the NFL

[Laudate_Dominum]

I speculate that teh Pope would have approved.

[Not A Mallard]

Dude, it's science-fiction

[kujo]

Dude, it's science-fiction

Is it, though?

Do you think it's that far-fetched that the trillion dollar military industry in the US would dedicate significant research dollars towards the creation of some kind of drug that creates a sort of "super soldier/super human?" That's one of the things that I've always found so fascinating about Captain America--yes, he's clearly a work of fiction. But I can absolutely see his origin story as 100% real. Call it a different sort of Manhattan Project.

[Innocent]

While we're on this topic, we should also discuss the morality of the Superhuman Registration Act.

[BigJon16]

Nerd(s).

[Winchester]

Use of hgh and steroids could be morally acceptable. If I could use small doses of hgh legally (and affordably), I certainly would. I would use performance enhancing drugs, were it not for the side-effects (and assuming decriminalization). Increasing intake of certain proteins and vitamins is morally acceptable, so why not products engineered using human reason?

[kujo]

The issue belying the various superhuman/mutant registration acts that have appeared in comics has generally been portrayed as analogical to the typical debate between the rights of the individual (i.e.- various civil liberties such as freedom of expression) versus the rights of "society" (i.e.- national security) on the other. Essentially the question is whether the superpowered/mutated individual have an absolute "right" to their abilities, or does society--and their legitimate order-enforcing arm, the government--have a vested interest in monitoring, or even constraining, them and their expression of those abilities?

This answer presented in most comic tends to favor the rights of the individual, since the outcome of these efforts to monitor inevitably lead to the government constraining the superhumans/mutants in one form or another. These acts are typically seen as both a harbinger and a justification for a more repressive climate for mutants, the argument being that their presence attracts the sort of chaotic, violent episodes riddled across the pages of our comics, or our television and movie screens. Thus, given that the ends, at least in this fictitious world, seemingly involve instances of hate-crimes and even genocide, it can be argued that these efforts aren't moral, since they serve as a precursor to great evils.

Edited by kujo, 27 May 2012 - 10:41 AM.

[kujo]

Use of hgh and steroids could be morally acceptable. If I could use small doses of hgh legally (and affordably), I certainly would. I would use performance enhancing drugs, were it not for the side-effects (and assuming decriminalization). Increasing intake of certain proteins and vitamins is morally acceptable, so why not products engineered using human reason?

I tend to agree, with the caveats of criminality and protection against abuses of these substances. As with everything, balance and moderation is the key. Too much muscle is certainly as unhealthy as too much fat. There's no way to look at certain body-building grotesqueries without feeling a profound sense of revulsion.

Edited by kujo, 27 May 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[kujo]

:bump:

[Lil Red]

i actually just read a good book called "Amped" about this.

[kujo]

i actually just read a good book called "Amped" about this.

About efforts to monitor and regulate members of society with super powers and mutated genomes?

[Lil Red]

pretty much. it's a good book. by Daniel H. Wilson

http://www.amazon.co...38315770&sr=1-2

Edited by Lil Red, 29 May 2012 - 12:23 PM.

[Laudate_Dominum]

They were leveraging available technology to augment his physical abilities so as to combat the greatest threat the world had ever known. It's a biotech analog of batman's suit and utility belt. And he was chosen for being amesome and throwing himself on a grenade to save others. It's amesome. lol.

[Winchester]

They were leveraging available technology to augment his physical abilities so as to combat the greatest threat the world had ever known. It's a biotech analog of batman's suit and utility belt. And he was chosen for being amesome and throwing himself on a grenade to save others. It's amesome. lol.

We made Hitler possible with our involvement in WWI.

[Amppax]

We made Hitler possible with our involvement in WWI.

Revisionist.

[Winchester]

Revisionist.

It's good to revise lies and acknowledge truth.