Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Solving Racism with a Drug
Link:
http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/9967
Summary:
In this article it discusses the controversial topic of the possibility of curing racism. A new drug, propranolol used to treat heart disease, effects the part of the brain dealing with fear and emotional responses. Eighteen individuals were given propranolol and all of them had significantly less subconscious racial bias. Many ethicist find this study intriguing, the possibility of solving hundreds of years of racism seems unbelievable to be left to the solution of a pill. However Dr Chris Chambers, of the University of Cardiff, expressed his doubts of this solution, stating that there is no way to tell whether the drug altered the racial bias' or the brains system more generally.
Question(s):
1. Is it truly a solution to the problem if it is solved by taking a drug?
2. if one could solve the issue of racism with a drug, would you?
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ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting article! I sadly don't think racism is something that can be cured with a drug but it could very well be controlled with one. Even with a drug..it is not eliminated..it is merely covered up.
ReplyDeleteI saw a clip from a documentary Alexandra Pelosi made and in it she interviewed southerners and asked them about Obama. One guy called him a Muslim and another said he didn't like him because he was black. It made me angry and was so disheartening to hear that! You can't change people's views and perceptions though...people are racist for a lot of different reasons...lack of education, tradition, social norms, the list goes on.
In Henrietta Lacks, the Austrian cancer researcher Christoph Lengauer, replies to Deborah's question of why her mother's cells are not black. He responds that cells have no skin color and that they all look the same (pg. 266). We are all the same and it's a shame that there is racism because even though we look different on the outside, we all look the same on the inside!!!
I do not think the issue is fixed if we have to take a drug. I believe it just makes you immune to the issue, just like a cough syrup will help you stop coughing, not necessarily making the cough go away. However, if this drug would be the only way racism is absent from society, then yes i would think it would be okay to come up with this drug. This is an issue that many people have been trying to stop, to have world peace. If this drug always this dream, then hopefully this drug does work.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if we altered people's perceptions using drugs, then how different would our society be from a society where everyone is trained and conditioned to think a certain way?
ReplyDeleteYes it's sad how racism is still present in our society today but I think that sooner or later, racism will be eradicated. I feel that our current generation is less racist than compared to older generations; as the older generations pass away, so will racism.
Even if this issue could be fixed with a pill, I do not think that it should be; racial problems and stereotype are rooted deep in human hisotry and it will take more than science to mend what we broke long ago. Using the pill to solve racism seems to me like a copout, no conscious effort would be needed to fix this learned reaction. People, instead, should help eachother be more openminded and teach eachother the way it truly is. Getting to know someone from another race diminished most of the stereotypes I have learned. Everyone is so incredibly dynamic that its impossible to categorize people into nice, neat categories in which there lies no room for exceptions. The first step to eliminating racism is to eliminate the fear and the hate. The past is the past; we need to forgive and learn from our previous mistakes. Do to this I think it is very important to try to understand other cultures and from where different types of people come. Understanding those two things will help people see why some do what they do. Racism is a creation of our consolidate minds and therefore, it is only fitting that the solution to this problem is mindful and always full of conscious efforts with a desire to change and be openminded.
ReplyDeleteI don't think racism can be solved by taking a drug. No one is born racist, but they do learn it from family and possibly experience. Therefore I feel like a drug like that would only partially solve racism, but only skin-deep. In order to solve racism, major reflections would be necessary along with an open mind. However, if racism could be solved by a drug, I would certainly want hospitals to use it. It would be great if people could just not be racist, but that simply isn't the world we live in today. If this drug could in fact work, everyone should take it, because we shouldn't live in a world where racism still exists.
ReplyDeleteI dont think using a drug to try to cure racism is a realistic option. Not all people would be willing to take something that altered the way they thought and their brains even function in order to benefit society. Also, it probably wouldn't have the same effect on everyone who took the drug so all of racism would never actually be completely eliminated. If there was a way to prove the drug would work on everyone and racism would be eliminated in society though, I would say it would definitely be worth it.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there are people who would turn to drugs as a way to cure racism is troubling. It means that all the other alternatives have been spent, and I believe that isn't true. Like what Gabi said, racism is taught. And it really is only how a person looks. Because of "inter-racial" mingling race is becoming harder to define. But the truth is, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS RACE! It is all taught discrimination against others who have a different skin color, culture, and style. I think in, say, 400 years at worse, what we know as racism will not exist... and that is at worst.
ReplyDelete