1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910818243203321

Autore

Graham Gordon <1949 July 15->

Titolo

Genes : a philosophical inquiry / / Gordon Graham

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London ; ; New York, : Routledge, 2002

ISBN

1-283-64185-2

1-134-52756-X

9786610111237

1-280-11123-2

0-203-99511-2

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (209 p.)

Disciplina

174/.25

Soggetti

Genes - Philosophy

Genetic engineering - Philosophy

Genetic engineering - Environmental aspects

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-189) and index.

Nota di contenuto

GENES A philosophical inquiry; Copyright; Contents; Preface; 1 Science and the self-image of the age; Icon and understanding; The fractured image: Einstein vs Frankenstein; Science; Technology; Anti-science; Explaining things; Engineering things; Pure and applied science; 2 Genetic explanation; Evolution and creationism; Natural selection and 'the selfish gene'; Survival of the fittest; Altruism, homosexuality and sterility; Irreducible complexity and the biochemical; Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology; Taking stock; Memetics; 3 Genetic engineering; Genetic screening

Genetic informationGenetic modification; Environmentalism; The precautionary principle; Genetic research; The 'slippery slope' and the 'sanctity of life'; 4 Playing God; Secular versions of the sacred; Genetic trespassing; Rights and equality; Human cloning; Stem cell production; Reproductive technologies; Designer babies and eugenics; Procreative responsibility and the ethics of abortion; 'Playing God' without God; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

'It's all in the genes'. Is this true, and if so, what is all in the genes? Genes: A Philosophical Inquiry is a crystal clear and highly informative



guide to a debate none of us can afford to ignore.Beginning with a much-needed overview of the relationship between science and technology, Gordon Graham lucidly explains and assesses the most important and controversial aspects of the genes debate: Darwinian theory and its critics, the idea of the 'selfish' gene, evolutionary psychology, memes, genetic screening and modification, including the risks of cloning and 'designer'