This blog post takes an in-depth look at how human cloning technology could impact individual dignity and identity, as well as our society’s values and structures.
Human cloning involves replicating a zygote or somatic cell—the state of cell division after fertilization but before fetal development—to create a human with identical genes. In other words, it is the technology to create another human genetically identical to a given individual. Human cloning first gained widespread public attention in 1996 with the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep in the UK. As the first mammal born through somatic cell nuclear transfer, Dolly sparked ethical and social debates about the potential of human cloning. This led to the question: “If humans could be cloned, what societal changes would we experience?” Let’s apply this technology to ourselves. If there were a human being with the exact same appearance, voice, manner of speaking, fingerprints, and blood type as me (assuming they would be similar, even if differing due to environment), what thoughts would arise? We would instinctively feel a sense of rejection first. I aim to explain why this rejection of human cloning arises.
First, why does this rejection of human cloning arise? We would generally answer: “Because our dignity is being violated!” But what exactly is our dignity? To understand the reason for this aversion, we must first clarify what our dignity entails. Let’s begin by examining the meaning of dignity. An encyclopedia defines human dignity as ‘the inherent right of an individual to be valued, respected, and treated ethically.’ This means ‘because humans are dignified, no one can arbitrarily kill a human or treat them harshly, and no matter how valuable an item may be, it cannot be compared to a human being.’ This dignity is revealed in the idea that human life is more precious than anything else. Dignity goes beyond simply protecting human life; it emphasizes that all humans possess inherent dignity and value and should receive equal treatment. This dignity becomes a crucial concept for protecting individual human rights and maintaining the foundation of society. Laws closely tied to daily life also reference dignity. Article 10 of the Constitution states, “All citizens possess human dignity and value.” Human rights likewise derive from human dignity. However, these statements lack an explanation of why humans are dignified. Let us discuss why humans possess dignity.
Why do humans possess dignity? I have concluded that above all else, humans must be dignified. Without dignity, achieving mutual respect and cooperation throughout humanity’s developmental process would have been difficult. Human society is sustained by the moral principle that we must respect and protect each other even amidst competition and conflict. If soldiers wounded in war were abandoned without healing, who would fight in wars, and who would defend that society? Furthermore, if we killed or harmed anyone we disliked in daily life, we ourselves would have to live in an anxious society like the primitive state, never knowing when we might die. Society is a group formed for human survival. To avoid unstable and chaotic environments, it endowed humans with the attribute of dignity and imposed the obligation to regard each other with dignity. The reason humans are dignified is not because they inherently possess a dignified attribute, but because we must regard humans as dignified beings for the sake of our own survival and the maintenance of society.
Of course, counterarguments can be made based on indirect situations. For example, attempting to rescue someone drowning might lead to more deaths and consume additional social resources. In our country’s reality, during tragedies like the Sewol ferry disaster, divers risked their lives searching for children, and significant tax funds were used to raise the sunken ferry. This may yield no benefit, either socially or for the individual divers. However, the thought of what I would have done if I had faced such a situation, coupled with the understanding and empathy that ‘someone’ in danger or hardship could have been me, strengthens and stabilizes our society. This ‘necessity’ manifests as welfare, serving as a social safety net. This welfare forms the foundation for passing on a society that guarantees our children a more stable and humane life. Therefore, ensuring every individual in society possesses dignity indirectly benefits both society and its members. In conclusion, necessity gives rise to ‘necessity,’ and our society bestows this ‘necessity’ upon individuals through the implicit agreement of its members, under the name of dignity. Our dignity can thus be defined: ‘Dignity is a social agreement born of necessity.’
We feel that this dignity we have received is undermined by human cloning. Specifically, what aspects undermine our dignity? Human cloning treats humans as objects, making them arbitrarily reproducible at will. Cloning reduces the inherent value of humans to a means-oriented perspective. When the act of bringing life into being becomes part of mechanical reproduction, its value and independence are compromised. In other words, it implies that someone identical to us can be created to replace us, even without our existence. This diminishes the individual’s own value and lowers the worth of their very survival. Furthermore, when members are treated like object parts, it becomes difficult for individuals within society to expect more than their assigned roles. For a dynamic and progressive society, members must engage in creative and proactive activities beyond their roles. However, in an environment where a clone can replace them at any time, it is challenging to motivate individuals, and their sense of belonging to society diminishes, potentially leading to a lack of responsibility for their assigned roles.
Society has endowed individuals with the attribute of dignity to protect its members and ensure its own maintenance and development. However, human cloning is a technology that breaks this social consensus and can endanger both society and its members, which is why we instinctively feel repelled by it.
