"But even if we allow hypothetically that gene enhancement could—like any powerful technology—be applied to nefarious social ends, that only strengthens the case for our developing it. Considering the near impossibility of repressing technological progress, and the fact that much of what is now prohibited is well on its way to becoming practicable, do we dare restrain our own research community and risk allowing some culture that does not share our values to gain the upper hand? From the time the first of our ancestors fashioned a stick into a spear, the outcomes of conflicts throughout history have been dictated by technology."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Atheists from the United StatesBiologists from the United StatesZoologists from the United StatesNobel laureates in Physiology or MedicineGeneticists
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Coda: Our Genes and Our Future (p. 434)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_D._Watson
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson (April 6, 1928 – November 6, 2025) was an American scientist, most known as one of the four discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule.
68 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by James D. Watson →
Related Quotes
"Should you be allowed to make an anti-Semitic remark? Yes, because some anti-Semitism is justified. Just like some an…"
"I turned against the left wing because they don't like genetics, because genetics implies that sometimes in life we f…"
"If you could make people with ten-point-higher IQs, we'd probably have fewer wars."
"I've seen no evidence of a god, so I'm not going to think about one. Being raised nonreligious made you free. You cou…"
"One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by ne…"
"I suspect that in the beginning Maurice hoped that Rosy would calm down. Yet mere inspection suggested that she would…"
"Watson: But legalities aside, I think we must reevaluate our basic assumptions about the meaning of life. Perhaps, as…"
"Watson: Our society just hasn't faced up to this problem. In a primitive society, if you saw that a baby was deformed…"
"The brain is the last and grandest biological frontier, the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe…"
"Prism: But how would society react to such a proposal?"