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Description

While the collapse of the Soviet Union has diminished the force of George Orwell's 1984, the other great dystopian tract of the twentieth century, Alduous Huxley's Brave New World, is timelier than ever. The ongoing process of genetic science may well revolutionize medicine and human reproduction, and it may end by giving us the ability to transform the human species itself. This new power has raised hopes that we will solve a range of genetically based problems that afflict us. It has also evoked fears that we are on the verge of a "post human" future in which precious but necessary norms regulating individual and social life will be set aside. Will we have the moral and political wisdom to avoid the pitfalls in using new biotechnologies?

Genetic Prospects considers the resources from which the needed norms and maxims might be drawn, scrutinizing carefully the contributions of common sense, religion, and moral sentiment. Taken together, the essays in this volume apply philosophical analysis to address three kinds of questions: What are the implications of genetic science for our understanding of nature? What might it influence in our conception of human nature? What challenges does genetic science poses for specific issues of private conduct or public policy?

Table of Contents

Part 1 I. The Concept of the Natural
Chapter 2 Genetic Engineering and the Concept of the Natural
Chapter 3 Unnatural Farming and the Debate over Genetic Manipulation
Part 4 II. Our (Modified?) Human Nature
Chapter 5 Genetic Engineering and Our Human Nature
Chapter 6 Normal Humans, Human Nature, and Genetic Lessons
Part 7 III. The Ethics (and Politics) of Genetic Technologies
Chapter 8 Finessing Nature
Chapter 9 Stem Cell Research and the Legacy of Abortion
Chapter 10 What Makes Genetic Discrimination Exceptional?
Chapter 11 My Fair Baby: What's Wrong with Parents Genetically Enhancing Their Children?
Chapter 12 The Ethics of Making the Body Beautiful: What Cosmetic Genetics Can Learn from Cosmetic Surgery

Product details

Published 08 Sep 2004
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 144
ISBN 9780585482934
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Series Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Verna V. Gehring

Contributor

William A. Galston

William A. Galston holds the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair…

Contributor

Sara Goering

Contributor

Deborah Hellman

Contributor

Mark Sagoff

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