Victor Frankenstein Ethical Research

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Imagine a world where science was performed without any previous research or knowledge of the possible results. In this world. it doesn’t matter what goes wrong because the scientists don’t have to take responsibility for their actions, but everyone else does. This hypothetical world would be complete chaos just as it was in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It was complete chaos in the lives of anyone the creature encountered, because of Victor Frankenstein’s lack of research and abandonment of his creation. Victor Frankenstein can be accused of breaking the laws of nature and even playing God. Move forward about 100 years and Steen Willadsen, a physiologist, thinks this can be good when he says, “The role of the scientist is to break the laws of nature” (Hitchcock 40). But time has to be taken into account, and medicine and science were more advance when Steen Willadsen said that than it was in the time of Frankenstein. There are many sides to the story of Frankenstein, but what is clear to many is that Victor Frankenstein’s methods were unethical because of his little research, the way he played God unnecessarily, his abandonment of his creation, and how he affected the lives of many people. In today’s scientific world, experiments aren’t done with little precaution. A lot of research and thinking has to be done before anything is tested. Move back to about 1816, when science and medicine were constantly changing, with new treatments and discoveries constantly appearing (Cultural). There were many different types of professions performing science and medical experiments during this time, the same way that Victor Frankenstein was only a college student studying natural philosophy when he performed a very important science in exper... ... middle of paper ... ...be seen as the creatures way of getting even with Victor for abandoning him. The creature killed Elizabeth Lavenza, Henry Clerval, William Frankenstein, and indirectly Justine Moritz; all of those who Victor loved and cared for. The way Victor abandoned his creature and let him kill all these people was immoral. Mary Shelley shows us that one should not be irresponsible with one’s obligations and creations. Victor Frankenstein shows that a world where science is performed without precaution can be a world of danger and chaos. This may serve as a lesson to take responsibility for one’s own actions. The results of his unruly behavior only proves that his methods and beliefs were corrupt and immoral. The novel of Frankenstein displays itself as a cautionary tale to perhaps prevent something similar, something so unethical and incorrect, from ever happening at all.

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