About this book
Introduction
This book explores the socio-political implications of human heredity from the second half of the nineteenth century to the present postgenomic moment. It addresses three main phases in the politicization of heredity: the peak of radical eugenics (1900-1945), characterized by an aggressive ethos of supporting the transformation of human society via biological knowledge; the repositioning, after 1945, of biological thinking into a liberal-democratic, human rights framework; and the present postgenomic crisis in which the genome can no longer be understood as insulated from environmental signals.
In Political Biology, Maurizio Meloni argues that thanks to the ascendancy of epigenetics we may be witnessing a return to soft heredity - the idea that these signals can cause changes in biology that are themselves transferable to succeeding generations. This book will be of great interest to scholars across science and technology studies, the philosophy and history of science, and political and social theory.
In Political Biology, Maurizio Meloni argues that thanks to the ascendancy of epigenetics we may be witnessing a return to soft heredity - the idea that these signals can cause changes in biology that are themselves transferable to succeeding generations. This book will be of great interest to scholars across science and technology studies, the philosophy and history of science, and political and social theory.
Keywords
Eugenics epigenetics postgenomics genomics STS sociology political theory history of biology philosophy of science history of science biology environment Generation philosophy politics science social theory society transformation
Bibliographic information
- DOI https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137377722
- Copyright Information The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
- Publisher Name Palgrave Macmillan, London
- eBook Packages Social Sciences
- Print ISBN 978-1-137-37771-5
- Online ISBN 978-1-137-37772-2
- About this book