Analyzing my Own Assumptions

DarkoStojanovic. "Doctor Medical Medicine Health Stetoscope." 2/2015 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain. 

In this blog post I will be comparing the culture of the writer to my own culture to find out how differences in culture can head to differences of opinions and views of the article and the conflict. The beliefs of the author are often displayed in their work and can change how the author interprets the information.

1) What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc., do I share with the society or culture in which the text was written? Why have they endured?

I seem to fit the audience the reader is going towards. I want to be a doctor myself so I know that the benefits of stem cells are extensive. I also am aware that the people who donate the stem cells are doing it voluntarily. This means that they feel it is the right thing to do. Others might think this is wrong do to based on the fact that it is either taking a life, or even if the fetus would not survive, it is not ethically right to use a human as an experiment.

They have endured in me because I feel we should continue to push the envelope as to wanting to help improve the overall health of humans and increasing the potential of how we can help sick people. These values are important to me because they help form the ideas of why I want to become a doctor and continue to help people the best way I know how.

Being a doctor herself, the author has to understand the value of a life, now whether which life she is looking at saving can become a different story. But overall, it is safe to say that we have similar morals in that regard.

2) What cultural beliefs and values do we not share? Why not?

This article does not share many of her personal beliefs but rather does a good job at stating facts. She does not go into a lot of detail about the different cultures/ religions that appose this idea which, for me, shows she may be more distant on the issue that I am. I believe that stem cells are a promising area of research. If I were writing more on this topic, I would be more inclined to put the apposing side so that the reader can put a face to the people who are apposing the opportunity to save lives.

3) If this was written in a culture different from our own, what social values, beliefs or ideals connect to my own culture? What ideals do not connect to my culture?

Some of the ideals pointed out in the argument don't really connect to my opinions in that they are going against my beliefs in the stem cell research. But that is not necessarily the author's personal views. I am not 100% which way the author sees the issue. She is a doctor and a scientist which I feel would motivate her to want to extend the research and try to save more lives.

She seems to say the laws restricting stem cell research as more of a "but" statement, meaning that the stem cell research can do all this good, but these particular rules are getting in the way of that. I was also raised Catholic, which is generally very pro life. I believe in saving lives as well, but I see the lives being saved as those who are benefiting from the research. My individual culture connects with her ideals in this point.

My personal culture contains many different element to it. I am an American, an 18 year old, a college student, a Catholic, as well as other things I can't think of right now. All of these aspects of myself go into my culture. Another difference in her outlook than mine is that she has been in the field and have had to work with patients, making her most likely more prone to accepting ways to help as many people as possible.

4) If the text was written with my culture and a different historical time, how have the social values, beliefs, etc., changed over time? 

Our understanding of science and the human body on a more molecular scale has been evolving so rapidly in recent years that many ideals would probably be different just from the lack of knowledge that we have today. A baby is a sacred thing for many people, and not just in the religious sense. A baby is new life and all things pure and good. Now that we know how a baby is created and how it develops, we know more about our own bodies.

Now that we have this knowledge about stem cells, scientists feel obligated to help the overall health of the human race. If this kind of knowledge is not in the realm of possibilities, someone would think you were crazy for suggesting to do this kind of research. They also thought Galileo was crazy for thinking the Earth orbited the sun. This advance in technology has brought around a new era and a new culture.

Reflection:

Reading Alex's blog post, it makes me think that, even within smaller cultural groups, there can be such discrepancies of opinions. With sports, everyone has a different relationship with it, especially if you are an athlete or not. Also our culture has shaped our arguments. If we had different ethics and morals, we would not be talking about whether it is okay to dope athletes. Some cultures are still worried about getting their next meal. It also reminds me how much of my own upbringing and culture has an impact on how I read other texts.

Reading through Mira's post made me realize that it is not always good to follow a major figure in every circumstance. Even if I am Catholic, it does not mean that I always need to follow along with everything the Pope says. But it is not just what he says that is making this a big deal, it is that what he is saying does not really play into his role description very neatly. The Pope is not a politician and should not try to act like one.