Breaking news! Humans are basically good

In the period spanning the lives of both Mary Shelley and her mother, Mary WollstonecraftA British writer who is often called the mother of feminism. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman she argued for equal rights for both genders., there was a massive amount of political upheaval which led to a reconceptualisation of the human character. Monarchies were toppled, giving way to new democratic models, and revolutionaries clashed with the old guardOriginal or long-standing members of a group who resist change. on the streets. Political thinkers were engaged with questions of how well the new democracies were likely to fare, and this included assessing human nature and its ideal form of government. Some, like Thomas HobbesAn English philosopher who is regarded as one of the founders of modern political theory., believed that humans were born selfish and were better suited to being governed by an absolute monarch; others, like John LockeA 17th Century English philosopher, known as the "father of liberalism". , believed that evil was brought about by socialisation rather than nature, and that representative governmentA form of democracy in which people vote in elected politicians who represent their views. Also called indirect democracy. was a better structure.

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Many critics saw the monster as an embodiment of Rousseau's noble savage, a primitive man with a spirit of essential goodness that is diverted into corruption by contemporary society. The monster claims to have come into the world benevolentWell-meaning and kind., but to have become jaded due to the evils of the social sphere he entered into. He becomes self-conscious due to reading literature: parts of Plutarch's Lives, Goethe's Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, Milton's Paradise Lost, which both offer him an education in humanness and make him aware of himself as an entity. But Paradise Lost in particular makes him aware of the evils of his condition - that his creator should have been present to guide and educate him, and was not. The monster compares himself to Adam, but states that "he had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator... but I was wretched, helpless, and alone". Education thus plays a bipartiteConsisting of two parts. and contradictory role: it is both the instrument by which he learns, torturously, of the love, care and companionship that he has been denied, and the thing that he begrudges his "creator", Frankenstein, for depriving him of.

Is numeracy now our most important skill? Britain's prime minister thinks everyone should study maths until they leave school. But some believe it already has too much importance.

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Is Eton suppressing free speech? Britain's most elite school faced an appeal from a teacher it says it had no choice but to fire - over a controversial anti-feminist video.

We are never in any doubt that it is a monster we should see in our mind's eye. Frankenstein calls his creation a "fiend", "spectre", "wretch", "devil" and "ogre" and describes it as "endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome", Yet Shelley is sympathetic - the monster has human feelings, reacts to rejection in a quintessentially human way, and claims a benign, innocent spirit. Viewed as a monster, marginalised and maligned by those around it, it becomes monstrous both to protect itself and as a kind of protest against repression. Shelley sees monstrosity and humanity as closely aligned and occasionally overlapping categories undefined by physical appearance. Frankenstein coincided with a new wave of 'zombie fears'. Resuscitation science was developing, making people unsure if the dead were ever truly dead, and so was 'galvanism', the idea that scientists could stimulate or renew life using electricity. As such, Shelley's ideas about monstrosity connected pertinently with contemporary fears about unnatural and inhuman life and organisms.

Is it wrong to remodel nature? The first man to breed a Labradoodle says it is his life's regret. Others point out that all dogs are wildly different to their wolf ancestors.

Ancient footsteps in sand rewrite history

Is it crazy to believe in monsters? The legend of the Loch Ness monster has captured our imaginations for centuries. Now, a team of scientists has a more rational explanation.

Is it dangerous to create living robots? Using the cells of a frog and artificial intelligence, scientists have designed an entirely new life form small enough to travel inside a human body.

Science in the era of Shelley's Frankenstein endorsed empiricism - the idea that scientists should try out their own experiments as opposed to relying on books or higher education. In many ways, Victor is merely obeying this imperative in trying to bring the monster back to life - though the dubious ethics of his plan are clear from the fact that his preparations are clandestineDone in a secretive way. and illegal. Then again, in this era, science was running wild, and nobody was following the rules. Body-snatching was incredibly common in Shelley's era. Traditionally, criminals sentenced to death were used for scientific experiments on the body, but there simply were not enough convicts being killed by the state to satisfy the huge demand for bodies. This meant that there was a profitable industry in selling bodies purloinedStolen. straight from the grave. 

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Could artificial brains become conscious? The science of the "mini brain" is developing rapidly. Now, many think we need an urgent debate on the ethics of creating a human mind in a lab.

Is this an ethical minefield? Scientists claim that they are close to finding a cure for ageing. But critics worry that it would increase the inequalities in the world.

The monster, turned away and persecuted by every human it encounters that sees it, turns to revenge as a result of the pain of rejection. But revenge also perpetuates the monster's outsiderdom and estrangementNo longer being part of or in good terms with a group, often due to disagreements. and turns it into the monster it claimed not to be, and is in this way a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is also all-consuming - the monster threatens that "you can blast my other passions, but revenge remains - revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food!", suggesting that its lust for revenge has erased or overshadowed its human or natural urges. But if we might be tempted to see the monster's vengeful spirit as something entirely incompatible with human nature, Shelley does not allow us, as Victor quickly becomes consumed by the same obsessive thirst for "a great and signal" revenge as the monster.

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