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The language of genetic technology: Metaphor and media representation

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10304310701861556

1469-3666

Emily Ryall,

Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgement The author would like to thank the reviewers for their very helpful comments and suggestions. Notes 1. The intention of this paper is to avoid assessing the normative ethical judgements associated with the application of genetic technology in sport. However, in promoting the thesis that language plays a vital role in creating a view of a world which affects the ethical judgements we make, it is acknowledged that this may implicitly sympathize with one position over another. 2. It must be stressed that the use of the term ‘picture’ throughout this paper is a metaphor itself and should not be taken as a literalization of the term – it is used to denote the way we view and approach aspects of the world and is not comparable with, for example, a picture theory of language. 3. This is an allusion to Wittgenstein's (1968, §109) statement: ‘Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.’ 4. It is not the remit of this paper to judge which, if any, is the ‘correct’ picture of the world but merely to urge a recognition of the part language plays in shaping our view of the world and subsequently our ethical judgements. Needless to say, it is necessary to appreciate that this is an alternative picture of the world in itself. 5. This can only be a partial understanding, as a total mapping would be a tautology; for a comparison that contained no difference between the thing it was supposed to represent and itself would necessarily be the same thing. 6. This alludes to Kant's distinction between things as they appear to us and things in themselves. Although Kant was referring to perception through our senses, I wish to argue that language should also be included in influencing how things appear. 7. As coined by Wittgenstein (1968 Wittgenstein, L. 1968. Philosophical investigations, Trans. G.E.M. Anscombe Oxford: Basil Blackwell. [Google Scholar]). 8. Which could, itself, be regarded as a metaphorical picture. 9. These examples from media reports are used merely for illustrative purposes and are purely indicative of the language used by the media. No statistical analysis has been carried out to quantify the extent to which such terms are used in the media. The media reports were collated following an extensive electronic search on archived newspaper sources provided by LexusNexus™ International (http://web.lexus-nexus.com) in conjunction with a Web search on Google (http://www.google.com) and BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk) between January 2002 and October 2004. A list of the articles can be found in the Appendix. 10. The front cover of Miah's book is by D. Lee (1999) ‘Cheetah-man’ from a series entitled ‘Evolution’, and originally formed part of an advertising campaign for Microsoft UK. More information can be found online at http://www.daniellee.com/portfo5.htm (accessed 1 November 2006). (It is also interesting to note the play on words between ‘cheetah’ and the associated argument in this discussion of the ethics of genetic modification of a ‘genetic cheater’.) 11. The untimely deaths of both Griffith Joyner, the American elite athlete, and Simpson, the English cyclist, were allegedly the result of taking illegal performance-enhancing substances. 12. Ryle (2000 Ryle, G. 2000. The concept of mind, Introduction by Daniel Dennett London: Penguin. [Google Scholar]) argues that conceptual (and philosophical) problems can arise from confusion brought about through language; specifically, in treating two different categories as if they were the same. The examples he gives are: a man who has been shown the various colleges of Oxford, yet asks where the University can be found; an observer who watches various units and battalions march past and continues to wait expectantly for the division to come by; and the spectator who is learning the different roles in cricket and asks who is playing the role of team spirit. Ryle's primary thesis in his Concept of Mind is that conceiving of ‘mind’ and ‘body’ as similar entities creates the kinds of problems associated with Cartesian dualism. 13. Created by Mattel and part of the 1980s ‘Masters of the Universe’ cartoon series, He-Man was depicted as a human with super-human strength, speed and agility as well as having telepathic powers.