Cloning the Buddha: The Moral Impact of Biotechnology [Hardcover]

Richard Heinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 1999

With penetrating common sense, eco-philosopher and journalist Richard Heinberg tackles some of the thorniest ethical questions we face; Are cloning, organ farming, genetic engineering, and other wonders of biotechnology developments morally aware people can support? If biotech research can cure diseases and feed starving people, wouldn't it be morally wrong not to pursue it?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Are humans playing God when they manipulate natural processes to achieve the results they want? Now that scientists can manipulate genetic materials, won't someone eventually use such technology to create a "perfect race"? Would it be desirable to "clone the Buddha," to use biotechnology to create compassionate people? Heinberg (A New Covenant with Nature) examines these and other questions in his survey of morality and biotechnology. He argues that science and morality often have little to do with each other simply because scientists very often lack a spiritual perspective. "The intuition, perception, or belief that other beings have a self and interior experience comparable to one's own is the basis for ethics," the author writes. Heinberg asserts that this inner self is purposeful and an end in itself, and he compares this definition of the inner self to the core experience of the sacred. Moreover, he contends, this inner self is caught in a web of life with other selves whose lives and well-being are dependent on one another. Such interdependence, he says, regards "nature as the ultimate model of economy, cooperation, simplicity, beauty, and purpose." Given such a view of nature, biotechnology is not an avenue for producing a society filled with cooperative and compassionate people. Rather, he says, we can create such a society by "working diligently on our own personal moral refinement, collectively confronting power and its abuses, and creating a nurturing context for our children and grandchildren." For the most part, Heinberg doesn't stray far from ground already covered in conversations about science, morality and religion. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

"We anticipate lively discussion of the ethical issues Heinberg raises. Readers with very little scientific background ... will be awakened to how greatly knowledge has expanded. Yet, as Heinberg so well describes, knowledge -- especially technical knowledge -- is not wisdom. And it is wisdom he advocates. --from the foreword by Dorion Sagan and Lynn Margulis, Ph.D.
"Nuclear energy taught us that the consequences of powerful new technologies are not foreseeable. Can we assess genetic engineering in a context of ethics and the long term well-being of humanity? Richard Heinberg offers us clear, well-balanced information, expert perspectives and opinions, deep questions -- everything we need to bring our personal expertise to the ongoing debate. His masterful and sensitive treatment of a very hot issue deserves the widest possible audience. --Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D., evolution biologist and author of A WALK THROUGH TIME and BIOLOGY REVISITED
"This scholarly analysis of the moral impact of genetic engineering biotechnology reveals the kind of science and state of mind driving this new "life science" industry. The evident threats to our humanity and to the future of Earth's creation, which cannot be denied, should concern us all." --Dr. Michael W. Fox, senior scholar, bioethics, Humane Society of the United States and author of THE BOUNDLESS CIRCLE
"I would recommend this book as required reading in any course on contemporary issues in science, ethics, economics, governance, medicine, or religion. It is written with understanding of the issue, with grace of presentation, and with thoughtful judgment. --Thomas Berry, author of THE DREAM OF THE EARTH
"This is a powerful, well-researched, good read clearly presenting the issues of genetic engineering. My own reaction to this problem for many years has also been that we need to find the Buddha within before we attempt to clone, lest we end up as the Sorcerer's Apprentice." --Edgar Mitchell, Founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Apollo 14 Astronaut

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Quest Books (August 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835607720
• ISBN-13: 978-0835607728
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,403,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Heinberg is the author of ten books including:

The End of Growth: Adapting to our New Economic Reality (June 2011)
Blackout: Coal, Climate, and the Last Energy Crisis (2009)
Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (2007)
The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars, Terrorism and Economic Collapse (2006)
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World (2004)
The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies (2003)

He is Senior Fellow-in-Residence of the Institute and is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost Peak Oil educators. He has authored scores of essays and articles that have appeared in such journals as Nature, The Ecologist, The American Prospect, Public Policy Research, Quarterly Review, Z Magazine, Resurgence, The Futurist, European Business Review, Earth Island Journal, Yes!, Pacific Ecologist, and The Sun; and on web sites such as Alternet.org, EnergyBulletin.net, TheOilDrum.com, ProjectCensored.com, and Counterpunch.com.

He has appeared in many film and television documentaries, including Leonardo DiCaprio's 11th Hour, and is a recipient of the M. King Hubbert Award for Excellence in Energy Education.

More information about Richard can be found on his website: richardheinberg.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The moral and ethics of Biotechnology, July 18, 2000

By 

willy valdivia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloning the Buddha: The Moral Impact of Biotechnology (Hardcover)

R. Heinberg present in 8 essays the basis of recombinant DNA technology and its implications in science, politics and environment. Personally, the core of the book is presented in three chapters (3, 4 and 7). Anyone who needs to clarify concepts about genetic modification using DNA recombinant technology and the ethical issues around it should put attention to chapters. Chapter three describe the differences among "traditional biotechnology" and biotechnology including DNA recombinant. Concepts of gene splicing and cloning are also included. The chapter also presents journalistic information about unexpected results that underline the possible risks of genetic modification in that are organisms poorly understood. One of the drawbacks of the chapter three is its lack of specific references to scientific journals and documents that can be referred for further reading. In addition, the reader should be aware of the controversial profile of some of the quoted references. The chapter four (Patents and Profits) includes examples that allow the reader to decide for the benefits and implications in the patenting of DNA sequences and how the adopting this regulations can result in the limitation of research and exchange of genetic material for research purposes. Unfortunately, one of the most controversial issues involving gene patenting regarding the appropriation of genetic resources from countries that lack these legal instruments is not discussed. The chapter finishes with technical issues involving transgenic crops losing their focus in the patenting topic. However, the information presented informs the reader about the agencies and companies involved and how the regulatory mechanisms affect the user of the technology. It is difficult write a document with information that question the technology and at the same time maintain the fairness that allow the reader decide without being inclined to follow the writer position. The chapter six, seven and eight allow the reader to analyze in overall the technology and form own aptitude. Cloning the Buddha is an informative book for the common layperson who needs to clarify their view about this controversial topic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes for compelling reading for modern times, April 12, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloning the Buddha: The Moral Impact of Biotechnology (Hardcover)

Written by Richard Heinberg (journalist, essayist, lecturer, and publisher of "MuseLetter"), Cloning The Buddha: The Moral Impact Of Biotechnology is a serious and thoughtful ethical study of the divisive issues arising from modern biotechnology. Starting with the successful cloning of the sheep Dolly in 1997 and stretching through a wide spectrum of possibilities, such as cloning organs for surgery or ending infertility, Heinberg showcases all of the major issues that are involved in today's national policy debates. However, Cloning The Buddha also asks if the seemingly "beyond natural" powers of science are putting our lives and souls at risk. Drawing upon the latest plant and animal research, as well as featuring interviews with religious leaders and a thorough moral analysis, Cloning The Buddha makes for compelling reading for modern times fraught with both discovery and peril -- and is strongly recommended reading for students and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in ethics, morality, science, and biotechnology.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Biased and disappointing, December 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Cloning the Buddha: The Moral Impact of Biotechnology (Hardcover)

Frankly I was disappointed by this book. The jacket and back cover promised an analysis of the moral issues of biotechnology from several different viewpoints. Instead, the book takes an almost exclusively anti-biotech, anti-corporate stance. I have no objection to this but would have liked to have a better representation of the book prior to purchasing it.

Heinberg does bring up several good issues on biotech patents, genetically engineered seeds that "expire", and related issues.

However, on the most hard-core scientific issues, he displays a certain lack of detailed understanding. For example, he talks about the issue of genes inserted in one engineered plant spreading to other nearby plants. However, he fails to point out that this happens almost exclusively between closely related plants - not just any two crops or weeds that happen to be physically near each other.

Similarly, Heinberg says that DNA taken from one species and inserted into another may express a different protein in the second species than it does in the first. This is true, but he far overstates his case. Alternative splicing produces small variations on an a protein, not radically different ones.

Heinberg also fails to tell the reader that one of the first things humans do in digesting food is to denature the proteins, breaking them down into their component parts.

Finally, Heinberg also fails to mention that the FDA already has testing systems in place that check to make sure that no proteins that humans are commonly allergic to (certain peanut proteins, for example) find their way into other foodstuffs.

All in all, while the book has a few thought provoking parts, it's extremely selective in only presenting evidence and arguments *against* biotech, while trying to maintain a thin veneer of objectivity. I find that kind of writing to be more aggravating than illuminating, because on the few points he makes that do resonate with me, I find myself wondering what counterpoints he's not presenting.