The Genetic Revolution and Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures 1998 (Popular Science) [Paperback]

Justine Burley (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192862014 | ISBN-13: 978-0192862013 | Publication Date: July 29, 1999 | Edition: 1

The world was stunned by the announcement that scientists had successfully cloned a sheep. Suddenly, questions that had seemed merely academic or better suited to science fiction became topics for public debate. Should we clone people? Is eugenics morally defensible? Should cloning be regulated, and if so, by whom? How should genetic information about particular individuals be protected? What will be the long-term impact on cultural and racial diversity? Based on the popular Oxford Amnesty Lectures, this fascinating and thought-provoking book collects work from leaders in the field, including Hilary Putnam, Ian Wilmut (co-creator of Dolly the sheep), and Jonathan Glover. It provides an up-to-date and realistic look at many of these challenging and contentious issues. Each chapter includes an introduction to the issue by a prominent lawyer, scientist, or philosopher, and the volume features a foreword by Richard Dawkins. The Genetic Revolution and Human Rights is an invaluable guide to the potential impact of this revolutionary technology on our future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This volume contains the 1998 Oxford Amnesty Lectures, addressing the human rights risks of the new genetics. The lectures discuss human cloning, privacy and health insurance, eugenic threats, concerns about distributive justice, and human rights issues in Africa. Contributors are Hilary Putnam, Ian Wilmut, Bartha Maria Knoppers, John Harris, Jonathan Glover, Hillel Steiner, and Solomon R. Benatar."--The Hastings Center Report

"As the twentieth century ends, we have hardly taken stock of what has happened during this century of biology. ... Fourteen essays are offered in response to cloning, reproductive technologies for the infertile, and the assorted screening and diagnostic (or possibly therapeutic) uses of the Human Genome Project. The essays were reviewed and critiqued by the contributors after presentation ... [T]here is an overview provided by Richard Dawkins that is not to be missed. It is brilliant, hilarious, and profoundly insightful. ... [T]his would be an excellent book to use in classes that discuss science and society issues. Virtually every side has a voice. ... No doubt future conferences with scientists and humanists will emerge in the new millennium, and this little book will serve as a model to air new ideas and changes in the way we reproduce and concern ourselves with the task (and joy) of parenting."--The Quarterly Review of Biology

About the Author

Justine Burley is Simon Fellow in the Department of Government at the University of Manchester, and is a part-time lecturer in Politics at Exeter College, Oxford. She is the editor of Ronald Dworkin and His Critics (1999, Blackwell) and (with John Harris) of A Companion to Genetics (1999, Blackwell). She is currently working on a monograph entitled Genetic Justice, which will be part of the forthcoming OUP series, Issues in Biomedical Ethics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (July 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192862014
• ISBN-13: 978-0192862013
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)