Analyzing My Audience

For this blog post I will answer three questions that people might ask when analzying a text's relationship to its social or cultural setting.

Werther, Jacopo. "Cyril Ponnamperuma analyzing a moon sample". 16 March 2008 via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain 

What values, ideas, norms, beliefs, even laws of the culture play an important role in text?
The role of ethical beliefs plays a large part in the text I have chosen to analyze.  The belief that humans can bring extinct species back to life may seem like a dangerous idea for some people.  Some people who study this controversy find that the advancement in technology and being able to use it and accomplish something that has never been done before, to be of utmost importance to them.  For many people, the idea bringing back species that lived in a different era on Earth, is not only a hazard to the existence of people, but can affect the environment that we live in.  Included with the dangers this idea brings, the lives of species that are currently alive are put in jeopardy.  The idea of cloning frightens many people.  It requires genetic engineering of DNA in order to produce species almost, even sometimes, identical to the species that once existed.  Another important idea is also expressed in this paper, what is more important, the idea of respect for species?, or the idea of respect for people?  Another, perhaps more important issue found in this article considers the "role of God" people play when considering the use of genetic engineering to brink back life.  The possibility that humans can bring back a species can affect the future life of this planet is an idea that may seem more violent and incautious than help the way we can improve biological integrity.    

Does the text address these cultural values, beliefs, etc., directly (by directly mentioning and responding to them) or indirectly (by presenting a scenario or narrative that addresses them)?
This text address the beliefs and cultural values directly.  It separates out the issues of this topic with different sections which includes the scientific purposes of de-extinction, the ecological axiology associated with it, and is de-extinction justified.

 What is the relationship of the text to the values, beliefs, etc.?  Is it critical of these aspects of the culture?  Is it supportive?  Does it seek to modify these aspects of the culture in a certain way?  
As noted earlier in this blog, the values and beliefs that many people hold leaves the idea of de-extinction to be widely accepted a slim chance.  The text is critical of the issues presented in it as it provides insight on what would happen if these beliefs and values were neglected and the possibility of de-extinction happened.  Rather than supporting or not supporting the use of de-extinction, different arguments are made regarding the different sections in the paper with the intent to inform readers about what de-extinction would do.  More so than not, the text points out the unlikeliness of de-extinction occurring.  The fact that it would most likely have overwhelming dislike from many people shows how this text does not try to modify the relationship between the text and the values that many people hold.