Abstract
The revolutionary developments taking place in genetic research as regards pharmacology, plant and animal breeding, and human medicine, make a revision of long-established views on human nature a concern for anyone involved with this matter. The success in mapping and sequencing the human genome, thanks to methodological achievements no-one thought possible a few decades ago, seems to speak for itself. Ethical evaluations are either the task of helpless philosophers or theologians who are not easily persuaded of the positive results of the genetic revolution, or of professionals who aim for positive feedback from the public. Scientists and ethicists seem to come from different planets, to speak a different language, and to regard each other as having rather reductionist views on humans and humanity. This paper aims to reopen the discussion by stressing the need for ethical evaluation when social changes of this magnitude are possible or even contemplated.1
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Mieth, D. (2006). THE NEED FOR ETHICAL EVALUATION IN BIOMEDICINE AND BIOPOLITICS. In: Rehmann-Sutter, C., Düwell, M., Mieth, D. (eds) Bioethics in Cultural Contexts. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4241-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4241-8_3
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