Clonebeing

I'm currently reading "Clonebeing: Exploring the Psychological and Social Dimensions," by psychaitrist Stephen Levick. I find the concept of cloning very unappealing, so I don't tend to want to think on it much, but the book's cover image caught my eye. It is a photograph of a man apparently in his 20's sitting beside his purported clone. They do appear to be the same man at different life stages. They are dressed exactly alike (in silvery-cold Star Trek fashion) and the uncanny artistic touches include the clones' shoes- black with deep notches in the toes, suggestive of animal hooves and the experimental animal clones we hear of occasionally.

The cover spoke to me on being "invented," similar to my own perception (or one dimention of it) of myself as an adoptee.

As a clinical psychaitrist, the author is very interested in exploring the possible impending psychological/emotional consequences clones will face. He bases his speculations on various "models," including consideration of twin, stepchild, parent-child resemblance, and replacement-child models, among others. Model 3 presented in the book is the adoption model.

The author finds in cloning and adoption two useful approaches of comparison, similarities and contrast. Similarities include the consideration of topics like chosenness, specialness, disclosure, replacement, and social marginalization. An example of contrast highlights identity formation: the adoptee knows "nothing" of his/her origins, the clone knows "everything."

The book is facinating and perhaps required, if not at least recommended, for adoptees. Adoptees could well someday be important advocates for the psycological issues that human clones will face.