The Origin of Species Endangered

This is based on the famous biblical illustration of the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden of Adam and Eve by Gustave Dore. Embedded in the image are portraits of two of the most famous scientists of all time.  Darwin, the one who discovered the workings of the process of natural selection hovers inside the entrance to the Garden; his eye an angel’s wing , his mouth a flaming sword. While being cast out of Eden into the world of “Man”, along with Adam and Eve we see the progenitor of unnatural selection, Gregor Mendel, ironically a priest. Although the moral of this work is less subtle than I normally prefer, I do think the potential repercussions of the genetic alchemy in which we so blithely indulge are no less severe than the ones faced by the first people who presumed to play god.

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