The Future of Human Nature

The Future of Human Nature

Recent developments in biotechnology and genetic research are raising complex ethical questions concerning the legitimate scope and limits of genetic intervention. As we begin to contemplate the possibility of intervening in the human genome to prevent diseases, we cannot help but feel that the human species might soon be able to take its biological evolution in its own hands. 'Playing God' is the metaphor commonly used for this self-transformation of the species, which, it seems, might soon be within our grasp.

In this important new book, Jurgen Habermas - the most influential philosopher and social thinker in Germany today - takes up the question of genetic engineering and its ethical implications and subjects it to careful philosophical scrutiny. His analysis is guided by the view that genetic manipulation is bound up with the identity and self-understanding of the species. We cannot rule out the possibility that knowledge of one's own hereditary factors may prove to be restrictive for the choice of an individual's way of life and may undermine the symmetrical relations between free and equal human beings.

In the concluding chapter - which was delivered as a lecture on receiving the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for 2001 - Habermas broadens the discussion to examine the tension between science and religion in the modern world, a tension which exploded, with such tragic violence, on September 11th.
Country USA
Brand Wiley
Manufacturer Polity
Binding Paperback
PartNumber Illustrated
Model Illustrated
Height 8.480298
Length 5.499989
Weight 0.39903669422
Width 0.421259
NumberOfItems 1
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Wiley
Manufacturer	Polity
Binding	Paperback
PartNumber	Illustrated
Model	Illustrated
Height	8.480298
Length	5.499989
Weight	0.39903669422
Width	0.421259
NumberOfItems	1
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

The Future of Human Nature

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