What Defines Humanity?

    What truly defines humanity? Reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has made me think about the world I interact with every day, such as "what seems normal now but will seem strange in the future"? Huxley proposes an answer to one of my questions, illustrating how even a normal concept of home and family is taboo. The word "mother" seems vulgar, but talk of reproductive processes is normal. Although it was written in 1932, many of the concepts don't seem all that outlandish. We have already been genetically engineering plants and animals for decades, and what if the focus shifts towards humans? Can humanity still be defined biologically when science smears its finger through the line further and further? Regardless of what constitutes as a biological male or female, we are all defined by the interactions we have. What truly defines humanity when science can't is the common struggle we all endure, trying to progress in a society with hurdles we constructed ourselves. If we constantly focus on bettering ourselves genetically, we begin to lose part of the daily struggle. If only the rich can eliminate ailments, it furthers the gap between the wealthy and the less fortunate; a slippery slope towards prejudice. In a world where our decisions already led to such prejudice, adding more could cause extreme societal rifts. While the future we live in today looks a little different than the teleportation devices and ray guns we once envisioned, the steady progression of technology and society raises the question: What makes us human?