Bioethics , Darwin and Orwell 1984

1. B I O E T H I C S
K R I S T I D E D J A
5 F
Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND

2. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
What is Bioethics?
Bioethics is the study of the
ethical issues emerging from
advances in biology and
medicine. It is also moral
discernment as it relates to
medical policy and practice.
Bioethics are concerned with
the ethical questions that arise
in the relationships among life
sciences, biotechnology,
medicine and medical ethics,
politics, law, theology and
philosophy.

3. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
What is Bioethics?

4. Darwin and the theory of evolution
The discovery of natural selection, by Darwin and Alfred Russel
Wallace, must itself be counted as an extraordinary philosophical
advance. The principle remained unknown throughout the more
than 2,000-year history of philosophy ranging from the Greeks to
Hume, Kant and the Victorian era. The concept of natural
selection had remarkable power for explaining directional and
adaptive changes. Its nature is simplicity itself. It is not a force
like the forces described in the laws of physics; its mechanism is
simply the elimination of inferior individuals. This process of
nonrandom elimination impelled Darwin’s contemporary,
philosopher Herbert Spencer, to describe evolution with the now
familiar term “survival of the fittest.” (This description was long
ridiculed as circular reasoning: “Who are the fittest? Those who
survive.” In reality, a careful analysis can usually determine why
certain individuals fail to thrive in a given set of conditions.)

5. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
ORWELL ,DARWIN AND 1984
"In the late nineteenth-century Darwinism was used as a
justification for laissez-faire capitalism, for power politics and for
the exploiting of subject peoples. Life was a free-for-all in which
the fact of survival was proof of fitness to survive: this was a
comforting thought for successful businessmen, and it also led
naturally, though not very logically, to the notion of ‘superior’ and
‘inferior’ races. In our day we are less willing to apply biology to
politics, partly because we have watched the Nazis do just that
thing with great thoroughness and with horrible results "

6. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
1984
“Darwinism was used as a justification for laissez-faire
capitalism, for power politics and for the exploiting of subject
peoples.”
In writing 1984, Orwell's main goal was to warn of the serious danger totalitarianism
poses to society. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate the terrifying degree of
power and control a totalitarian regime can acquire and maintain . In such regimes,
notions of personal rights and freedoms and individual thought are pulverized under
the all-powerful hand of the government. Orwell was a Socialist and believed
strongly in the potential for rebellion to advance society, yet too often he witnessed
such rebellions go wrong and develop into totalitarian rule. Specifically, Orwell saw
such developments during his time in Spain and in Russia, where he witnessed the
rise of communism and the accompanying destruction of civil liberties, honest
government, and economic strength
The Party works to quell all physical sensations of love, and depersonalizes sex to the
point where it is referred to as a "duty to the Party" (for the purposes of procreation).
Some Party organizations even advocate complete abstinence and procreation only
through artificial insemination.

7. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
1984
“Darwinism was used as a justification for laissez-faire
capitalism, for power politics and for the exploiting of subject
peoples.”
In writing 1984, Orwell's main goal was to warn of the serious danger totalitarianism
poses to society. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate the terrifying degree of
power and control a totalitarian regime can acquire and maintain . In such regimes,
notions of personal rights and freedoms and individual thought are pulverized under
the all-powerful hand of the government. Orwell was a Socialist and believed
strongly in the potential for rebellion to advance society, yet too often he witnessed
such rebellions go wrong and develop into totalitarian rule. Specifically, Orwell saw
such developments during his time in Spain and in Russia, where he witnessed the
rise of communism and the accompanying destruction of civil liberties, honest
government, and economic strength

8. 1 9 8 4 T E C H N O L O G Y
Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-SA

9. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
TEChNOLOGY
As previously noted, technology is an extremely important tool that the Party uses to
maintain control over its citizens. Without telescreens, the Thought Police would not be
nearly as effective, and propaganda would not be so widespread. The constant supervision
of the telescreen effectively imprisons citizens of Oceania in their daily lives: they are always
under observation.
Ironically, other areas of technological development are strikingly stagnant. For example, the
printing machines in the Ministry of Truth are still quite basic, and each superstate continues
to build the same bombs that were used decades before. Scientific progress has halted,
except where it serves the Party's goals (such as in artificial insemination or new methods for
psychological manipulation).
I recommend watching Terry Gilliam's film Brazil to better understand Orwell's vision in 1984

10. Questa foto di Autore sconosciuto è concesso in licenza da CC BY-NC-ND
CREDITS
-https://www.earthriseblog.org/orwell-darwin-
and-a-fool/
-Sparknotes
-BBC Bitesize
-Oil Project
-GradeSaver