Fred Edwords

About the author: Fred Edwords is the editor of the Humanist, for which he writes frequently. This article is based on lectures he gave at the National Conference of the American Humanist Association in San Diego, California, in 1998 and at the International Humanist and Ethical Union World Congress in Mumbai, India, in 1999.

Technology changes ways of living, values, and even religion. The numerous advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering that have recently taken place or are expected in the near future, such as the mapping of the human genome and genetic modification of plants and animals, are bound to bring many such changes. They raise important ethical issues, including the question of whether living things, even human children, will come to be regarded as mere products. While this new technology should be embraced, it should be...