Humanists who prefer secular narratives will find Shattuck's discussion of Faust and Frankenstein particularly thoughtful. Enter Mary Shelley, writing a cautionary tale about a mind that has overextended itself, that has failed to learn its limits. The practical payoff of such literary analysis comes in the second half of the book. Here, Shattuck applies the morals of these tales to contemporary issues in science and art. Wisdom seems to come to scientists after the fact a problem that occasions Shattuck's long review of other areas of science, from eugenics to DNA research, where early restraint might have been, or is now, wise.
Art also raises moral questions.
We have grown so accustomed to unfettered freedom of expression that we rarely consider the effects of particularly depraved works. Shattuck spends a good deal of Part II of the book tracing the history of Marquis de Sade's work, a sobering story of a violent pornographer's rescue by hip intellectuals and their success in winning him canonical status in American universities. Literature, like science, has moral consequences, Shattuck asserts. We ought to see evil for what it is, and not let its gussied up literary expression change our assessment. In the end, Shattuck urges, not censorship, but cultural awareness of moral boundaries.