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From: bryans@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Bryan Seigfried)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: The Ethics of Species Engineering ( WAS: Re: Human/Chimp Hybrids?)
Keywords: ethics
Message-ID: <1990Oct4.042043.27569@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 4 Oct 90 04:20:43 GMT
References: <1990Sep23.163322.28379@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <4909@nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu> <270A6B70.15884@ics.uci.edu> <38939@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Lines: 34

pmm@acsu.buffalo.edu (patrick m mullhaupt) writes:


>	As a non-biologist I am curious about what scientists would
>hope to gain by performing the human/chimp experiment.  What questions
>would this experiment shed light on?
>	As a more general question; on what criteria should an
>experiment, (any experiment), be judged as being worthwhile?  Who
>should decide what the criteria are?  Should the general public get
>any say in the matter?
>	
>	Patrick Mullhaupt

	I must agree must agree with Pat.  While finding out what a human/
chimp hybrid would be like would be interesting, I find the idea pretty
abhorrent.  How could
one rationalize keeping the being in a lab or some controlled enviroment 
all its life.  I do not see anyone anywhere who would extend the poor 
creature anything more than sympathy.  It would exist always hated, despised,
or studied in a calculating manner all it life.  Many people struggle with
the meaning of their life, this poor being would know *exacty* why he exists,
and I'm sure that no one has the right to bring sentience to the world for
such cold reasons.

	As far as what it would shed light on, I'm sure it could shed light
on many questions.  However, for any statistical significance to take hold,
there would have to be at least a population of a few hundred.  This amounts
to vurtual slave ;abor *whether or not they are used for more than sciemtific
purposes*.                                          

__
Bryan Siegfried
Biology and economics at the University of Illinois
sigbio@uiuc.edu