Controlling Our Destinies: Historical, Philosophical, Ethical, and Theological Perspectives on the Human Genome Project

by Phillip R. Sloan (Editor)

Overview

This work considers the complex, far reaching issues surrounding the Human Genome Project - an international scientific enterprise aimed at attaining a complete sequence and locator map of the human genetic structure by the year 2005 - offering the elimination of genetic abnormalities and diseases.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268008208
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	01/01/2000
Series:	Studies in Science and the Humanities from the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values , #5
Pages:	530
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Phillip R. Sloan is professor emeritus in the Program of Liberal Studies and the graduate Program in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame.

What People are Saying About This

Paul Lawrence Farber

Controlling Our Destinies contains the most penetrating set of available essays that explore the cultural dimensions of the Human Genome Project. It will become essential reading for those who want to assess the value and significance of the HGP. It's accessibility makes it a perfect supplement for any biology program that wants to explore what humanists can tell us about the HGP.
— (Paul Lawrence Farber, Oregon State University Distinguished Professor of History of Science)

Robert Olby

An excellent collection of papers from a truly inter-disciplinary conference focusing on the humanistic implications of the Human Genome Project. Masterminded and edited by the well known philosopher and historian of biology, Professor Phillip Sloan, the volume juxtaposes differing views on the many controversial issues raised by the sequencing of our genetic blueprint. This collection is an achievement in the spirit of the ELSIE initiative, and does credit to it.
— (Robert Olby, Research Professor, Department of History Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh)

Editorial Reviews

The Human Genome Project seeks to pinpoint the genetic basis of virtually any human trait, but it also offers ethical and theological issues which will change human perspective and meaning. Contributors discuss the project’s background, issues, and impact with an eye to revealing the many underlying social changes which will occur as a result of the project.” —Bookwatch

“Anyone who is interested in human genetic research will find that this book offers a relevant and interesting analysis of the full range of ethical, philosophical and theological implications of such work. ...[T]he contents of this book are of great importance....” —Addiction Biology

“Sloan is absolutely correct in helping his readers see implications well beyond the ethics of medical genetics.… These scientific, historical and philosophical contributions make this volume an invaluable and unique contribution to the growing literature that is exploring the moral and ethical implications of the Human Genome Project....” —National Catholic Bioethics Center

“... an innovative contribution to the conversation about human genetics....This is a tremendous book: a unique addition to the scholarly discussion and suited to upper division and graduate biology and humanities courses that seek interdisciplinary inquiry into the implications of human genetic knowledge.” —Religious Studies Review

“A fruitful text, the reader is bound to find several essays that meet his or her needs and interests.” —Metapsychology

From the Publisher