Abstract
Some questions that could be asked regarding the revolution of genetics would be the following: what is its real influence on the conceptual network of the social sciences, if any? Are there in the scientific network, social or cultural concepts whose meanings have been modified substantially by this revolution? And, if so, to what extent? A first step in order to answer these questions is to determine what is meant by ‘revolution of genetics’. Once this is answered by the identification of some knowledges and technologies characterizing this scientific phenomenon, we shall demonstrate that the effect of the revolution of genetics on other disciplines – such as the theory of health – causes a conceptual change that should be considered as a Kuhnean shift in a certain way. In this article we explore this connection in a way that differs from other approaches that usually consider the relations between genetics and society in terms of eugenic policies or those of the geneticization process, by focusing on the impact that genetic technologies have on the notions of health and unhealth
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baudrillard J (2000) The vital illusion. Columbia University Press, New York.
Bayertz K (1997) What is special about molecular genetic diagnostics? The J Med Philos 23:247–254.
Boorse C (1977) Health as a theoretical concept. Philos Sci 44:542–573.
Boorse C (1997) A rebuttal on health. In: Humber J, Almeder R (eds) What is disease? Human Press, Totowa.
Burke W (2002) Genetic testing. The N Engl J Med 347 (23):1867–1875.
Derrida J (2002) The aforementioned so-called human genome. In: Rottenberg E (ed) Negotiations. Stanford University Press Stanford.
Habermas J (2003) The future of human nature. Polity Press. Cambridge.
Fukuyama F (2002) Our posthuman future. Consequences of the Biotechnology revolution, Profile, London.
Kuhn T (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. The Chicago University Press Chicago.
Kuhn T (1970) Reflections on my critics. In: Lakatos I, Musgrave (eds) Criticism and the growth of knowledge. Cambridge University Press.
Kuhn T (1981) What are scientific revolutions. In: Krüger, Daston, Heidelberger (eds) The probabilistic revolution. The MIT Press.
Kuhn T (1997) “The natural and the human sciences” in Hiley, Bohman and Shusterman eds. The Interpretative Turn. Philosophy, Science and Culture, Cornell University Press, 17–24.
MDH (1998) Genetic testing for susceptibility to breast cancer. Minnesota Department of Health June:1–21.
Nirenberg M (1967) Will society be prepared. Science 157:633.
Nordenfelt L (1986) Health and disease: two philosophical perspectives. J. of Epidem and Comm. Health 40:281–284.
Nordenfelt L (1995) On the nature of health, 2nd edn. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Nordenfelt L (2001) Health, Science and Ordinary Language. Radopi, Amsterdam – N. York.
Rahner K (1967) Zum Problem der genetischen Manipulation. In: Schriften zur Theologie, Benziger Verlag, Zurich.
Ramsey P (1965) Moral and religious implications of genetic control. In: Roslanski DJ (ed) Genetics and the future of man. North-Holland Publishing, Amsterdam.
Report of the Task Force on Genetic Testing (1999) In: Holtzman N, Watson M (eds) Promoting safe and effective genetic testing in The United State. J. Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Reznek L (1991) The philosophical defense of psychiatry. Routledge and Paul Keegan, London.
ten Have H (2001) Genetics and culture. The geneticization thesis. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 4:295–304.
Torres JM (1997) On the limits of enhancement in human gene transfer: drawing the line. The J Med Philos 22:34–53.
Torres JM (2002) The importance of genetic services for the theory of health: a basis for an integrating view of health. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 5:43–51.
Torres JM (2006) Genetic tools, Kuhnean theoretical shift and the geneticization process. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 1:3–12.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Torres, J.M. (2007). Genetics and Society: a Different View. In: Fagot-Largeault, A., Rahman, S., Torres, J.M. (eds) The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking. Logic, Epistemology, and The Unity of Science, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5664-2_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5664-2_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5663-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5664-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)