Remaking of Man

Carrel was one of the man whose visions really impressed me. His book "Remaking of Man" highlights various aspects through which progress of humanity can be accelerated.

Some of the basic ills that Dr. Carrel saw in twentieth century society are: rising proletarianism, the utter ignorance of qualitative aspects in favor of quantitative aspects as science advanced and rising tendency of people to value materialism and money more than human values or feelings.[i] The ignorance of qualitative aspects by science in our society is evident by the fact that humans today know more about their external environment than they do about themselves, in terms of their soul, purpose and origin. An American dream is to own a car, an apartment and ensure financial security, all three of which are materialistic. People are driven more by materialistic greed than the desire for collective action in enhancing human values and feelings. However, the evidence for rising proletarianism is mixed in different parts of the world. While developed countries like Scandinavian nations have fairly succeeded in achieving equality among its people, the number of proletarians is still increasing in many under-developed nations.

Dr. Carrel hoped to build an ideal society consisting of a race of perfect humans who possessed qualities such as high intellects, natural immunity, high physical endurance and sound mental health. He also hoped to define specific gender roles, develop a group of specialists with extra-ordinary abilities and end humans’ crave for materialism. I strongly object Dr. Carrel’s idea of defining specific gender roles since it is an explicit form of male chauvinism. Gender roles are socially constructed rather than being innate. I also oppose Dr. Carrel’s military way of training the entire human race to confer desirable physical endurance and natural immunity. This process mechanizes human body and compromises with humans’ freedom. However, I endorse Dr. Carrel’s goal of selecting a group of extra-ordinary people to pursue his goal because such an organized effort could achieve much more than what has been achieved hitherto through various individual or small-scale efforts.

Dr. Carrel assumed that humans are strictly either male or female and that each sex has an innate and distinct nature. He assumed that women have a natural aptitude towards nurturing and caring. But, women have proved their capability in various fields that were reserved exclusively for men such as military. I disagree that women are destined for nurturing roles. In addition, humans are not distinctly male or female as evident by the reiteration of gays that they deviate from the society’s bi-gender system not because of their choice but because of their nature. His second assumption is that human qualities such as intelligence and leadership are hereditary, and are independent of external influences such as social environment. I disagree with his assumption since the link between intelligence and heredity is a highly debated issue devoid of concrete scientific evidence.[ii] Neither Einstein’s son nor Einstein’s father was as intelligent as Einstein. In fact, Einstein’s family except for Einstein was hardly known for its intelligence. Carrel also assumed that the quality of tissues is hereditary while it has been proved that diet and environment are significantly important in determining such characteristics.

Dr. Carrel strongly favored eugenics to produce ‘valuable’ off-springs with desirable characteristics.[iii] He suggested that strengthening of the strong instead of supporting the poor is the key to progress. He hoped to build his new society through the efforts of extra-ordinary individuals committed to pursuing his dream. He also wanted to assign specific gender roles, check divorces and eliminate criminality either by capital punishment or modification of the brain of criminals.[iv]

His suggested means of conducting compatibility tests before marriage devalues and mechanizes the process of marriage by rendering it solely for the purpose of producing desirable off-springs. Also, people with extra-ordinary talents might be forced to work for his vision. Moreover, assigning gender roles and checking divorces compromises human freedom. However, I think capital and corporal punishment for criminals are justified because a criminal dead is a criminal less. Since many of his suggested means compromise human freedom and are unethical and unfair, his goal of building an ideal society seems impracticable.

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[i] . Alexis Carrel, Man, The Unknown (New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1935), 1.

[ii] . David Wilson and Roger Keil, "The real creative class," Social & Cultural Geography 9 (2008): 841.

[iii] . John White, “Eugenics, Race and Intelligence in Education- By Clyde Chittym,” British Journal of Educational Studies 56 (2008): 228.

[iv] . Diane Romm, "Wretched Sisters: Examining Gender and Capital Punishment," International Sociology 23 (2008): 747.

Bibliography

Carrel, Alexis. Man, The Unknown. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1935.

Wilson, David, and Keil Roger. "The real creative class." Social & Cultural Geography 9 (2008): 839-841.

White, John. “Eugenics, Race and Intelligence in Education- By Clyde Chittym.” British Journal of Educational Studies 56 (2008): 226-228.

Romm, Diane. "Wretched Sisters: Examining Gender and Capital Punishment." International Sociology 23 (2008): 747-754.

Leopold, David. "Socialism and (the rejection of) utopia." Journal of Political Ideologies 12 (2007): 219-237.

Giesecke, Annette Lucia. "Homer's Eutopolis: Epic Journeys and the Search for an Ideal Society." Utopian Studies 14 (2003): 23-40.

Bain, Read. "Asylum/Man the Unknown/Why Keep Them Alive…." American Sociological Review 1 (1936): 814-817.

Rose, Hilary. "Eugenics and Genetics: The Conjoint Twins?." New Formations (2007): 13-26.

Waller, John. "Evolution's inside man." New Scientist 187 (2005): 42-44.

Godin, Benoît. "From Eugenics to Scientometrics: Galton, Cattell, and Men of Science." Social Studies of Science 37 (2007): 691-728.