Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
before the last out. The reigning champions (the New York Yankees)
were challenged by youth (the Arizona Diamondbacks), yet they hung
on to redeem the value of age and experience, only—again at the last
opportunity—to be dethroned by the slimmest of margins with the
heroes thwarted after what seemed to be another improbable success.
2002 (and every next year) appeared as a challenge for the new cham-
pions, and the opportunity for revenge for everyone else.
Why do we live for such moments? The answer seems to be found in
the uncertainty of the outcome, the possibility of the hoped-for success,
but also the possibility of failure. It sounds a bit pessimistic, but failure
is more likely than success, the mundane more likely than the extra-
ordinary. When Arendt talks of the person as a beginning, of the inser-
tion of the individual into public space, she allows as well for a discussion
of the failure of such efforts. It has been said that life is what happens
while you are making plans.
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This is particularly true when we plan for
the development of the self. Life plans are difficult phenomena in that
the more explicit and rigorous they are, the more prone they are to failure
or the sacrifice of one who is the subject of the plan. In large measure,
this can be explained by the argument that the self is discovered, not
created.
Importantly, the most serious challenge to any attempt to discover
the self is the possibility of failure; I may not find what is there to be
found. Since I do not know (explicitly and completely) what I am looking
for, and since there may be something there for me to find, I may not
find it.
From the vantage point of this observation, a significant difficulty
posed by genetic engineering is brought into view. While it is generally
overshadowed by the concern with death, we have an important concern
with the possibility of failure. We may be put under compulsion to act
by our fear of death and the possibility of never having existed, but once
undertaken, our actions are dogged by our limitations. All too aware of
the uncertain outcome of our intentions, we turn to whatever means
available to increase the chances of success. Can we use genetic engi-
neering to more successfully accomplish our life plans? In so doing, are
we not trying to eliminate failure? Of particular interest is the possibil-
ity of living a perfect life, that is, a life completely congruent with the
expectations held for that life. If failure is a large part of life, and a large
