Science and Forbidden Knowledge
By: Jehan Jayasekera
The subject of Science and technology has evolved to an extent that there are concerns about politicization and social control of science that results in constraining the amount funding and scientific research done on various subjects. A good example would be the bans and regulations that are imposed on research topics such as human cloning embryonic stem cells and nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Although, in rare occasions, there are ambitious individuals who go beyond these constrains and social norms in search of something greater; or in other words, a forbidden knowledge. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a story of one such individual, that takes his research a step further than what is socially perceived as ethical. Victor Frankenstein scientifically constructs a monster that later becomes the reason of his destruction. However, sciences of this sort can have positive outcomes that could be beneficial to society. This study will analyze the concept of forbidden knowledge and it's positive and negative outcomes in comparison to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Young Victor Frankenstein's interest of the natural sciences begins, when he comes across book of occult sciences written by Cornelius Agrippa. This interest soon turns into an obsession which leads him to studies done by other natural philosophers and alchemist such as Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus. The common string that tied all these philosophers together was that they were all believers of the Occult. The word Occult is derived from the Latin word "Occultus" that means the "hidden knowledge". Occultist believed in more unorthodox scientific methods such as black magic and super natural powers and considered this to be the forbidden knowledge. Similarly, although a detailed description of the creation process of the monster is not given in the novel, it is correct to say that occult sciences were used in the creation of the monster because of Victor's obsession with the above mentioned philosophers.
The modern interpretation of the Forbidden knowledge could be described as unorthodox; however, it is different to the idea discussed earlier as it has more to do with society's view of science and what the society accepts as good or bad, and this could be based on religious beliefs and cultures. The article Forbidden knowledge published in the Science magazine states:
"Forbidden knowledge embodies the idea that there are things that we should not know. Knowledge may be forbidden because it can only be obtained through unacceptable means, such as human experiments conducted by the Nazis; knowledge may be considered too dangerous, as with weapons of mass destruction or research on sexual practices that undermine social norms; and knowledge may be prohibited by religious, moral, or secular authority, exemplified by human cloning". (Forbidden Knowledge, Science[2])The above statement could also be applied to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as Victor's creation can be considered as a weak attempt of creating a human clone. And the fact that victor went above and beyond to achieve his goal.
From the movie Frankenstein
Some scientists go above and beyond to complete their research and make new discoveries and turn to non ethical paths to get to their goals. According to the article Forbidden Knowledge; knowledge that is gained through improper means such as human experiments is considered, forbidden knowledge. This is a negative aspect of forbidden knowledge. And in the history of mankind, there have been occasions where scientists and doctors have carried out experiments on human subjects without the consent of the individual. There is no better example for this than the human experiments that were conducted in concentration camps during world war II. The book Doctors from hell:The horrific account of Nazi experiments on humans, written by Vivien Spitz states:
"The human experiments included "high-altitude" experiments in which concentration camp inmates were forced, without oxygen, into high-altitude chambers that duplicated conditions at up to 68,000 feet; removal of sections of bone, muscle, and nerves, including whole legs removed at the hips to transplant to other victims; artificial wounding and exposure to mustard gas; wounding of two limbs and treatment of one but not the other with sulfonamide antibiotics; intramuscular injection with fresh typhus". (Doctors from hell:The horrific account of Nazi experiments on humans [3])This suggests that the Nazi doctors were conducting experiments to create super soldiers. The theme of super humans is also present in Shelley's Frankenstein, as Frankenstein's monster is said to have the superhuman strength and speed and also have the ability to live in ice caves where a regular human will not survive. Although Victor did not carry experiments on living humans, it is said that he collected body parts of dead humans and put them together to build the structure of the monster. This shows that Victor also went beyond ethical principles in order to find the forbidden knowledge just as the Nazi scientists. Dr. Josef Mengele is one name that stands out when the topic of human experiments is discussed. Mengele like Frankenstein was a rogue scientist who carried out human experiments at Auschwitz. Patrick Guinan in his article Bioterrorism, embryonic stem cells, and Frankenstein, states: "there is now a debate as to whether his research data may be cited in scientific articles"[1]. This gives rise to another interesting question. Although, Dr. Mengele carried out human experiments; which is looked down upon by society and is considered a negative effect of acquiring forbidden knowledge, can his research information be used for the betterment of society? If so would that still be considered a negative aspect of sciences of this sort? Mengele always believed that the work he was performing was ethical and legitimate per the laws of that time, and his motive was to build a superior race and there by build a better Germany[6]. This makes one thing of what would have happened if the creature created by Victor turned out to be something that's beneficial to society. It is said that initially the intentions of the monster were good and kind. He was secretly helping the family of villages by bringing them wood hoping they will make him part of their family one day; The novel also discusses an occasion where the monster saves a drowning girl. The two main reasons that drove the monster to a path of destruction was the lack of proper guidance and his monstrous appearance. So if Victor was able to build a creature that had a better appearance and provide it proper guidance, the fruit (creature) bore by victors forbidden knowledge could have been considered as a positive outcome of unorthodox science.
Dr. Josef Mengele conducting human experiments
High Altitude experiments conducted by Nazis
Speaking of positive outcome of unorthodox sciences, Embryonic Stem cell research is another field of study that has raised controversial debate in the last two decades. Stem cells provide huge potential to finding cures for a vast number of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's, various spinal chord injuries and more. Furthermore, it is also believed that Embryonic Stem cell research could be the stepping stone to human cloning. However, there's a non ethical side to it since the embryonic stem cell research involves the destruction of laboratory fertilized human eggs. The article 'The pros and cons of human therapeutic cloning in the public debate' published in the Journal of Biotechnology, discusses three views held by society that make stem cell research an ethical dilemma.
"A significant body of opinion holds that the human embryo from the very moment of its creation has the moral status of a human being that must be protected by virtue of the principle of dignity... an early human embryo is just a collection of cells, its moral status equivalent to that of any other cell in the human body and therefore it does not have any interests to be protected... the human embryo has neither the full moral status of a person nor an absolute right to life. Though it has a right to protection, this right is not absolute and can be overridden".(The pros and cons of human therapeutic cloning in the public debate,Journal of Biotechnology[5])Therefore, one could argue that research in this field could be forbidden knowledge since it gives rise to ethical issues within society and gives humans the power to create life in other words God like status.