Clone Being: Exploring the Psychological and Social Dimensions [Paperback]

Stephen E. Levick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742529908 | ISBN-13: 978-0742529908 | Publication Date: February 28, 2004

Most people think the risks of reproductive cloning are so high as to make trying to clone a person immoral. Even if the medical risks could be reduced greatly, many believe a clone would still risk great psychological harm, and that the practice of reproductive cloning would also be detrimental to society. Others dismiss these concerns as speculative, and point to the possible good they believe it could do. But we need not wait for the first clone to be born to systematically consider the possible psychological and social ramifications of cloning. Marshalling psychological and sociological theory and research, and drawing upon extensive clinical experiences as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Levick explores the various dimensions of cloning. Clone Being attempts to anticipate possible consequences for a clone, his or her 'parents' and family, and society. Psychotherapy case material enlivens and illustrates the book and the reader is helped to identify 'clone-like' aspects of his or her own experience and mental life, and of contemporary life. Through this process, the book comes to important conclusions about human nature, including the crucial roles of intimacy, sex, and sexuality for society. The clinical and scientifically grounded insights of this book should help inform the reader's ethical judgments and attitudes about cloning people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This scholarly book provides an analysis of cloning that is far wider in scope than any other I know of, presenting in great detail the observed or potential effects of entering a family in a variety of different ways, including through cloning. It provides the first framework for detailed analysis of the ethical, psychological, and social consequences of human reproductive cloning. It should inform discussion of any proposal to produce children by nuclear transfer who are genetically identical twins of another person. (Wilmut, Ian Times Higher Education Supplement )

For some time now, we have all been listening to a din of voices on cloning, each offering a different opinion on the genetics and medical aspects, ethics and religious implications. Now at last, thanks to Dr. Levick, we have a full, eloquent, knowing, and deeply humane account of human cloning and its potential for good or ill on the human psyche. In a careful analysis of various models of identity, Levick manages to avoid the mantras of the warring camps to reach his own position with balance, and with sensitivity to the needs of parents and children. This book will be an important addition to the growing literature on this exciting but uncertain new field of medical science. (Brown, Jason W. )

In this brilliant and intriguing book, Levick anticipates the psychological and social consequences of human reproductive cloning. Containing a wealth of information drawn from the author's clinical experience and the psychiatric literature, this book is a welcome antidote to the hype and armchair speculation prompted by the prospect of cloning. Facts about identical twins, parent-child resemblance, and what happens when parents seek to replace a dead child are fascinating in their own right, and provide useful analogies for the implications of human cloning. (Ruth Macklin )

It will be a long time before we have actual empirical research on human clones. In Clone Being, Stephen Levick gives us the next best thing. His work may well stand as the blueprint for the kind of genuinely psychologically informed reasoning upon which we will need to depend when cloning becomes a reality. This is an extremely intriguing and important book. (Rogers Smith )

Clone Being is a deeply probing, predictive, and informative examination of a topic about which at present there are still mostly fears, dreams, and hopes. If Dr. Frankenstein had an opportunity to read Dr. Levick's book he might have been able to avoid the mistakes that he made! (J. Alexis Burland, M.D. )

This is a thought provoking and well argued book about the possible psychological and social well-being of cloned beings. (Bulletin Of Medical Ethics )

Stephen Levick has written a uniquely thought-provoking treatment of the possible psychological and social consequences of reproductive cloning. Regardless of one's stance on this current controversy, his book will be a most fascinating and informative journey. (Dr. Nancy Segal )

Although human clones do not exist as yet, this well-written, thought-provoking book also covers current issues, such as ethics and sexuality, which are applicable to the psychological development of all humans. Recommended. (Choice )

Human clones are bound to have psychological problems, or at least be at great risk of them. So argues Stephen E. Levick, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in his new book, Clone Being: Exploring the Psychological and Social Dimensions. Most people believe that cloning a human being is unethical because of the many medical risks. But Dr. Levick assumes that the medical problems will be overcome eventually. He chose to explore the potential psychological perils of being a clone--that is, a person who is genetically identical to someone who already exists. We can anticipate what clones will go through, Dr. Levick says, by looking at people with whom cloned children would have similarities. Those models include identical twins, who are clones of each other; children of famous fathers or mothers, who have to cope with the expectation that they will resemble their parents; and children born through the use of in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies, whose parents--if they reveal to their children their high-tech method of conception--may constantly remind their sons and daughters that they are special. (Lila Guterman Chronicle Of Higher Education )

With much of the discussion of human reproductive cloning revolving around vague notions of 'repugnance,' it is refreshing to see someone tackle this area with sobriety and scholarly rigour. . . . Clone Being is a welcome refrain to the cloning debate cacophony, and an argument that policymakers ignore at the peril of future generations. (The Lancet )

This book provides the scientific background that should inform any analysis of proposals to produce cloned children. (Cloning And Stem Cells )

This is a very readable book. [Levick's examples] compose an impressive analysis of potential problems that are seldom mentioned in ethics discussions about cloning. (New Genetics And Society )

From the Author

Anyone willing to dig in, and learn new things should be able to read and understand this book. I wrote it to try to inform the ethical debate on cloning in new ways. It is meant to be both a scholarly and highly accessible book on a serious subject of broad human interest.

The book strives to help the reader understand reproductive cloning on a variety of levels -- intellectual, personal and emotional; and from a number of perspectives -- that of the clone, the person wishing to clone, the clone's family, and society. In the process, aside from what the reader comes to learn about cloning, I hope he or she will come away with a better understanding of him or herself and others.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (February 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742529908
• ISBN-13: 978-0742529908
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,268,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethics Catches up to Cloning, February 20, 2005

By 

B. Hibbs "B." (Philadelphia, PA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clone Being: Exploring the Psychological and Social Dimensions (Paperback)

CloneBeing is a brilliantly explicated book on the psychological and social implications of human cloning. For those readers whose first question might be:"Why should I read a book about cloning?"; my response would be that this book explores the many models of parenting which serve as analogies to cloning. Models which are commonplace today, but as sci fi at one time as cloning seems today. Dr. Levick provides many illuminating chapters on the psychological similarities for the parent-child relationship in models such as: The Identical Twin, Assisted Reproduction: The Stepchild; The Adoption; The Parent-Child Resemblance; The child of the famous person; The replacement and namesake child. Most of us have at least a passing familiarity with these models, if not a personal experience of them. The insights Dr. Levick brings to these issues include the motivations of the adults as well as the consequences to the child. It is fascinating and provocative reading. He ends with policy implications, and offers a way for ethics to catch up to science.
As a reader I am often guilty of skimming a book before buying it; and then skimming it as a form of "reading it." This is a book well worth buying, and then a pleasure to read and soak up its valuable observations. I highly recommend it.