Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA (Popular Culture and Philosophy, 102)

In__Orphan Black__, several apparently unconnected women discover that they are exact physical doubles -- they're illegally produced clones, and someone is having them killed. Law enforcement is powerless to help. The clones are forced to form their own Clone Club to defend themselves.__Orphan Black__raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions. What makes a person unique? Should we have a say in whether we're cloned? Is it immoral to generate clones with built-in defects? What does the behavior of the Clone Club tell us about the nature-nurture debate? Is it relevant that most are heterosexual, one is a lesbian, and one is a transgendered male?__Orphan Black__shows us problems of biotechnology that will soon be everyday issues. What kind of a future faces us when human clones are commonplace? Will groups of clones have a tight bond of solidarity, making them a threat to democracy? If the world is going to be taken over by an evil conspiracy, would a scientific cult like Neolution or a religious cult like the Prolethians be better? Should biotech corporations be able copyright human DNA? What rules of morality apply when you can't trust the police? In Orphan Black, several apparently unconnected women discover that they are exact physical doubles, that there are more of them out there, that they are all illegally produced clones, and that someone is having them killed. They find themselves in the midst of a secret and violent struggle between a fundamentalist religious group, a fanatical cult of superhuman biological enhancement, a clandestine department of the military, and a giant biotech corporation. Law enforcement is powerless and easily manipulated by these sinister forces. The clones are forced to form their own Clone Club, led by the resourceful Sarah Manning, to defend themselves against their numerous enemies and to find out exactly where they came from and why. Orphan Black continually raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions deserving philosophical analysis. What makes a person a unique individual? Why is it so important for us to know where we came from? Should we have a say in whether a clone is made of us? Is it immoral to generate clones with built-in health problems or personality defects — and if so, does that mean that producers of clones must practice eugenic selection? What light does the behavior of members of the Clone Club shed on the nature-nurture debate? Is it relevant that most are heterosexual, one is a lesbian, and one is a transgendered male?This TV show shows us problems of biotechnology which will soon be vital everyday issues. But what kind of a future faces us when human clones are commonplace? Will groups of human clones have a tight bond of solidarity making them a threat to democracy? If the world is going to be taken over by an evil conspiracy, would it better be a scientific cult like Neolution or a religious cult like the Prolethians? Should biotech corporations be able to own the copyright on human DNA sequences? What rules of morality apply when you can't trust the police and powerful groups are ready to murder you? Thanks -- Leda Thinkin' To Us... -- Pt. I. How Many Of Us Are There? -- Fearfully And Wonderfully Made / John V. Karavitis -- Go Ask Alison / Daniel Malloy -- When Clone Club Looks For Answers / Johanna Wolfert And Adam Barkman -- Who Owns Clones? / Rod Carveth -- Pt. Ii. If We're Genetically Identical, Do You Get That Little Patch Of Dry Skin Between Your Eyebrows? -- The Human Being In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction / Daniel Malloy -- One Clone From Another / Erik Baldwin -- I Am And Am Not You / Jeremy Heuslein -- Pt. Iii. You Want To Grow A Tail, That's Your Business -- Laughing In The Face Of The Absurd / Rob Luzecky And Charlene Elsby -- Variation Under Ethics / Rachel Robison-greene -- How Can Clones Disagree? / Audrey Delamont -- Pt. Iv. You Know I Never Would've Got In If You's Said We Were Going To Suburbia -- Leda, Castor, And Their Families / Carmen Wright -- Not Why But Who / Sarah K. Donovan -- Sisterhood's Back In 'orphan Black' / Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns And Emiliano Aguilar -- Re: Production / Darci Doll -- Pt. V. You Just Broke The First Rule Of Clone Club -- The C-word / Rachel Robison-greene -- Is Sarah Manning Responsible For What She Does? / Joshua Heter And Josef Simpson -- Dialog With The Buddha / Christopher Ketcham -- A Brief History Of Cloning / Richard Greene -- References -- The Clone Club -- Index. Edited By Richard Greene And Rachel Robison-greene. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 213-216) And Index. In Orphan Black , several apparently unconnected women discover that they are exact physical doubles -- they're illegally produced clones, and someone is having them killed. Law enforcement is powerless to help. The clones are forced to form their own Clone Club to defend themselves. Orphan Black raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions. What makes a person unique? Should we have a say in whether we're cloned? Is it immoral to generate clones with built-in defects? What does the behavior of the Clone Club tell us about the nature-nurture debate? Is it relevant that most are heterosexual, one is a lesbian, and one is a transgendered male? Orphan Black shows us problems of biotechnology that will soon be everyday issues. What kind of a future faces us when human clones are commonplace? Will groups of clones have a tight bond of solidarity, making them a threat to democracy? If the world is going to be taken over by an evil conspiracy, would a scientific cult like Neolution or a religious cult like the Prolethians be better? Should biotech corporations be able copyright human DNA? What rules of morality apply when you can't trust the police? Contents 8 Thanks 12 Leda Thinkin' to Us. . . 14 PART I: "How man of us are there?" 16 1. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made 18 2. Go Ask Alison 30 3. When Clone Club Looks for Answers 40 4. Who Owns Clones? 50 PART II: "If we're genetically identical, do you get that little patch of dry skin between your eyebrows?" 62 5. The Human Being in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction 64 6. One Clone from Another 78 7. I Am and Am Not You 90 PART III: "You want to grow a tail, that's your business." 100 8. Laughing in the Face of the Absurd 102 9. Variations Under Ethics 110 10. How Can Clones Disagree? 120 PART IV: "You know I never would've got in if you'd said we were going to suburbia." 130 11. Leda, Castor, and Their Families 132 12. Not Why but Who 142 13. Sisterhood's Back in Orphan Black 156 14. Re: Production 168 PART V: "You just broke the first rule of Clone Club." 180 15. The C-Word 182 16. Is Sarah Manning Responsible for What She Does? 194 17. Dialog with the Buddha 204 A Brief History of Cloning 218 References 228 The Clone Club 232 Index 238 In the TV show Orphan Black, several apparently unconnected women discover that they are exact physical doubles -- they're illegally produced clones, and someone is having them killed. Law enforcement is powerless to help so the clones form their own alliance to defend themselves. This book explores Orphan Black raises philosophical issues, as well as ethical and policy questions such as what makes a person unique and whether cloning is immoral