The Ethics of Frankenstein

After working relentlessly for two years on his project, Victor Frankenstein achieved his goal. He created the monster that Mary Shelley depicts in her classic Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein was an inventor and a visionary. He said, "what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable" (Shelley 26). Like many other men and women in history, Victor Frankenstein had an idea. He had an idea that he though would positively influence the world. However, after creating the monster and turning his vision into reality, he regrets it.

There is a plethora of inventors today who have come to deeply regret their creations.

Albert Einstein worked on the creation of the atomic bombs. Two bombs Einstein helped develop were dropped on populated cities in Japan during the second world war. After hearing the first atomic bomb was dropped, Einstein said, "woe is me". It is estimated 226,000 people were killed by the first two bombs.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was a soldier in the Russian army. He listened to his fellow soldiers complain about how their weapons would jam in combat. He sought out to develop a more reliable rifle for the Soviet army. His rifle, known as the AK-47, is now the most popular and circulated firearm in the world. It accounts for over 25% of the world's firearms and over 75 million are in circulation today.

John Sylvan developed the K-cup and Keurig coffee brewer. He developed the Keurig to waste less coffee by only brewing the amount people needed. As a result, his design has produced tons of waste. Sylvan calls his design "a cigarette for coffee, a single serve delivery mechanism for an addictive substance". The amount of k-cups in landfills today could be wrapped around the earth ten and a half times.

Despite the terrible affects of the above creations, they really don't compare in horror to Victor Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein gave an inanimate object a mind of it's own. He created a monster that we can't control. Einstein created the bomb, but it is up to humanity how it is used. Kalashnikov developed a rifle, but it is up to humanity whether it is fired or not. Sylvan created the K-cup, and it is up to us whether we brew that cup of coffee or not. However, Frankenstein's monster was on it's own, with it's own actions and intentions. That is why the story is so disturbing.

Thanks for reading
Billy Stoddard