LEADER 04517nam 2200721Ia 450 001 9910455248203321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-333-67479-0 010 $a0-262-25068-3 010 $a1-282-09981-7 010 $a0-262-26763-2 010 $a9780585388490 010 $a9786612099816 010 $a0-585-38849-0 024 3 $a9780262267632 035 $a(CKB)111036011522042 035 $a(OCoLC)49569405 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10225276 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000519810 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12232919 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000519810 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10497928 035 $a(PQKB)10881710 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000245324 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11202465 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000245324 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10174835 035 $a(PQKB)11293213 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3338822 035 $a(OCoLC)49569405$z(OCoLC)60771381$z(OCoLC)61250285$z(OCoLC)475314680$z(OCoLC)533380727$z(OCoLC)646742102$z(OCoLC)666933497$z(OCoLC)722659363$z(OCoLC)728043736$z(OCoLC)756430764$z(OCoLC)888832189$z(OCoLC)961525123$z(OCoLC)961682498$z(OCoLC)961854620$z(OCoLC)962719379$z(OCoLC)962723090$z(OCoLC)966089053$z(OCoLC)970728468$z(OCoLC)988524098$z(OCoLC)991945362$z(OCoLC)1036861134$z(OCoLC)1037911923$z(OCoLC)1038572100$z(OCoLC)1045497582$z(OCoLC)1053038440$z(OCoLC)1055337472$z(OCoLC)1062929565$z(OCoLC)1081230770 035 $a(OCoLC-P)49569405 035 $a(MaCbMITP)6209 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3338822 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10225276 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111036011522042 100 $a20000913d2001 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe shattered self$b[electronic resource] $ethe end of natural evolution /$fPierre Baldi 210 $aCambridge, MA $cMIT Press$dc2001 215 $a1 online resource (260 p.) 300 $a"A Bradford book." 311 $a0-262-52334-5 311 $a0-262-02502-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 330 8 $aAnnotation$bThroughout history, we have selected and manipulated the genomes of plants, animals, and even ourselves. Until now, however, such control could be exerted only at the level of the entire organism. Scientific and technological advances now allow us to manipulate genomes directly at the level of single genes and their constituents, with a speed and precision that far exceed what natural evolution has been able to achieve over the past 3.5 billion years. These advances open new possibilities for medicine, biotechnology, and society as a whole. We already have in vitro fertilization and animal cloning; in the future human cloning and the exploitation of embryonic stem cells, among other capabilities, may be routine. At the same time, we are developing machines that will surpass the human brain in raw computing power and building an interconnected world of information-processing devices that makes science fiction pale in comparison. In this book Baldi explores what it is about these phenomena that makes us so uneasy--the shattering of the human self as we know it. Through evolution our brains have been wired to provide us with an inner sense of self, a feeling that each of us is a unique individual delimited by precise boundaries. We have also been wired to reproduce ourselves in a certain way. Baldi argues that this self-centered view of the world is scientifically wrong. Its past success lies in its being an adequate model during our evolutionary bootstrapping: a world without molecular biotechnology, human cloning, and the Internet. Eventually we must come to terms with the fact that genomes, computations, and mind are fluid, continuous entities, in both space and time. The boundary between the self and the world has begun to blur and ultimately may evaporate entirely. Baldi offers not predictions but an open-eyed exploration of our current state of knowledge and the possibilities that lie ahead. 606 $aGenetic engineering 606 $aGenetic engineering$xMoral and ethical aspects 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aGenetic engineering. 615 0$aGenetic engineering$xMoral and ethical aspects. 676 $a599.93 700 $aBaldi$b Pierre$0282482 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910455248203321 996 $aThe shattered self$92175462 997 $aUNINA