Scientific Choice And Ethical Identity: A Study Of Twenty-first Century British And American Science Fiction Of Human Cloning

Since the 1950 s and 1960 s,the world has witnessed rapid development of biotechnology and genetic engineering,and as a result,human cloning gradually becomes one major theme of science fiction.The birth of the cloned sheep Dolly in1997 forebodes that human cloning is an impending reality,which leads to frequent appearance of the theme of human cloning in twenty-first century science fiction.Since their emergence,human beings have been employing science and technology to reform themselves and their living conditions.And with the advancement in science and technology,the maturity of cloning technology in particular,human beings' reformation on themselves is extended to the creation of man.Therefore,humankind has to confront the serious problem that the conflict between science and ethics is pushed to its limit.However,reading human cloning from the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism,it comes to our senses that humankind,after having set foot in the phase of ethical selection,is going into a new phase,scientific selection.Against this background,contemporary British and American writers have explored the potential ethical problems caused by the application of human cloning technology in their works.Taking Ethical Literary Criticism as its main methodology,the study of the ethical identity of human cloning as its mainline,this thesis has made an analysis on human cloning's ethical choice and human being's scientific choice in scientific selection time which are depicted in twenty-first century British and American science fiction of human cloning.This thesis is divided into six parts.The first part is introduction,which includes a brief introduction to twenty-first century British and American science fiction of human cloning,literature review of the study of science fiction of human cloning home and abroad and a brief introduction to Ethical Literary Criticism;Chapter oneelucidates the internal impulse of human being's scientific choice of materializing human cloning and the evolution of the image of “man-made being” in western literature.Human being's narcissistic complex,death drive and ontological questioning all contribute to humankind's cloning complex.With scientific development,the image of “man-made being” evolves and human cloning in real sense emerges and develops;Chapter two aims to discuss the ethical identity of human cloning,a new Sphinx riddle.As the genetic copy of human being,human cloning has gained the identity as a biological man.The materialization of human cloning has subverted traditional ethical relationships and new family modes are generated.Uncertain ethical relationships have led to the uncertainty and ambiguity of human cloning's ethical identity and identity confusion.To solve the mystery of its identity,human cloning has to set foot on the journey of ethical identity exploration;Chapter three focuses on the ethical choice of human cloning in scientific selection time.Impelled by identity appealing,human cloning protagonists have set foot on identity exploration and transformation in which through ethical choices they have acquired indispensable attributes to a “man”: ethical awareness,humanity and reason.Therefore,human cloning has gained its unique existence and it can be concluded that the essence of “man” lies in the ability to make right ethical choice and gain reason;Chapter four reflects on human being's scientific choice in scientific selection time.Faced with rapid development of science and technology,human beings have made wrong scientific choices which threat their ethical identity as “man”.And reflections on how to deal with the relationship between human being and science and technology also have been made: human being's scientific choice should be made under the guidance of ethics.And in the last part,a general summary of this thesis is provided and the significance of science fiction in vitalizing modern literary writing is pointed out.