In this forward-looking book, Ronald Bailey, science writer for "Reason" magazine, argues that the coming biotechnology revolution, far from endangering human dignity, will liberate human beings to achieve their full potentials by enabling more of us to live flourishing lives free of disease, disability, and the threat of early death.
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"...Bailey's mastery of the arguments, and his roster of the best people to talk to, are second to none." -- Matt Ridley, author of Genome, Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human and The Red Queen: Sex and Evolution of Human Nature.
"...neither minces words nor shrinks from a good rumble,...that is what makes Liberation Biology so engaging and powerful." -- Greg Stock, author of Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future.
"...provides the closely reasoned analysis that,...ought to guide public policy with respect to biotechnology an bioengineering." -- Arthur Caplan, The Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director, Center for Bioethics University of Pennsylvania
"...neither minces words nor shrinks from a good rumble,...that is what makes Liberation Biology so engaging and powerful." -- Greg Stock, author of Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future.
"...provides the closely reasoned analysis that,...ought to guide public policy with respect to biotechnology an bioengineering." -- Arthur Caplan, The Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director, Center for Bioethics University of Pennsylvania
About the Author
Ronald Bailey (Charlottesville, VA) is the science correspondent for Reason magazine, a former television producer, and the author of Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths and Eco-Scam: The False Prophets of the Apocalypse. His articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, National Review, Forbes, and many other publications.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a clear and vigorous statement of the libertarian position on biotechnology. Bailey argues for "liberation biology" as "the earthly quest to overcome the physical and mental limitations imposed on us by nature, enabling us to flourish as never before."
Bailey insists that the technological manipulation of nature to satisfy human desires has been part of human life at least since the development of civilization based on agriculture. Using biotechnology to enhance human nature--to promote our physical and mental health and to extend our life span--is a continuation of this ancient human effort to conquer nature by articial means.
Although he recognizes the need for some legal regulation to secure the safety and efficacy of biotech products and to protect against force and fraud, Bailey prefers to leave adults free to decide for themselves (and their children) whether to employ biotechnology to enhance life. People will make mistakes. But they will learn by trial and error what uses of biotech are desirable and what not. Some people will decide to avoid such biotech advancements--following in the tradition of the Amish and other groups that choose to restrict their reliance on technology.
In arguing for this libertarian position, Bailey attacks both the bioconservatives (such as Francis Fukuyama and Leon Kass) and the Leftist bioluddites (such as Jeremy Rifkin and Bill McKibben).
I find Bailey's reasoning generally persuasive, although I think that at some points he exaggerates the power of biotech for changing human nature. He appeals to the natural human desires as the moral motivation for biotech--for example, the natural desire of parents to care for the health and happiness of their children. It's hard for me to see how biotech is going to alter, or even abolish, those desires. (I have elaborated this point in my book DARWINIAN CONSERVATISM.)
Bailey has a clear argument that is forcefully presented. He has made a great contribution to the continuing debate over biotechnology and the future of human nature.
Bailey insists that the technological manipulation of nature to satisfy human desires has been part of human life at least since the development of civilization based on agriculture. Using biotechnology to enhance human nature--to promote our physical and mental health and to extend our life span--is a continuation of this ancient human effort to conquer nature by articial means.
Although he recognizes the need for some legal regulation to secure the safety and efficacy of biotech products and to protect against force and fraud, Bailey prefers to leave adults free to decide for themselves (and their children) whether to employ biotechnology to enhance life. People will make mistakes. But they will learn by trial and error what uses of biotech are desirable and what not. Some people will decide to avoid such biotech advancements--following in the tradition of the Amish and other groups that choose to restrict their reliance on technology.
In arguing for this libertarian position, Bailey attacks both the bioconservatives (such as Francis Fukuyama and Leon Kass) and the Leftist bioluddites (such as Jeremy Rifkin and Bill McKibben).
I find Bailey's reasoning generally persuasive, although I think that at some points he exaggerates the power of biotech for changing human nature. He appeals to the natural human desires as the moral motivation for biotech--for example, the natural desire of parents to care for the health and happiness of their children. It's hard for me to see how biotech is going to alter, or even abolish, those desires. (I have elaborated this point in my book DARWINIAN CONSERVATISM.)
Bailey has a clear argument that is forcefully presented. He has made a great contribution to the continuing debate over biotechnology and the future of human nature.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ronald Bailey presents both a sensible investigation into human enhancement technologies and an inviting discourse that is better written and more thoroughly researched than most books on the same topic. Bailey does not skirt issues and does not cut and paste information. If you want knowledge that is pertinent and from a voice of logic - read this book!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It seems that everyone agrees biotechnology will have a profound effect on our species' future; where they disagree is how much of a good thing this is. "Liberation Biology" is written by Ronald Bailey, who takes an essentially Transhumanist position on this; that the options given to us by biotechnology will give us longer, happier, healthier lives.
Bailey is a writer for Reason magazine and a libertarian, so it's choice and freedom that drives his moral arguments. I have a hard time disagreeing with him when it comes to the blatantly paternalistic arguments that he deals with from biotechnology critics like Fukuyama and McKibben. (McKibben's arguments that genetic selection will turn kids into products and not people are particularly awful, although this may be in how Bailey presents them I suppose). The critics can romanticize suffering, death, and ignorance all they want, but I'd rather improve my chances of choosing where and how I die.
Bailey has more trouble in other areas - although he very effectively deals with concerns over GM food safety, as a libertarian he's far too inclined to believe that corporations won't misbehave when they get a good deal of control (as in the case of biotech crops - they've obviously helped, but farmers being dependent on one or two companies for their food supply unsettles me).
The book's biggest issue is the format, however. This is adapted from web essays, and it shows - the topics are disjointed, and the chapters are an odd mess of a tour of current technology and batches of moral arguments. This makes it a slow read; one topic bounces to another, and while it's true that moral issues are often dependent on specific technology, taking a more planned approach would have read to a better and more readable book - a broad argument instead of a bunch of discussions of individual topics.
Still, it's often informative, and although due to the fast pace of technology a couple of sections (most notably the stem cell chapter) are somewhat out of date, this will give you a good grounding in a lot of the current science and moral arguments surrounding biotechnology.
Bailey is a writer for Reason magazine and a libertarian, so it's choice and freedom that drives his moral arguments. I have a hard time disagreeing with him when it comes to the blatantly paternalistic arguments that he deals with from biotechnology critics like Fukuyama and McKibben. (McKibben's arguments that genetic selection will turn kids into products and not people are particularly awful, although this may be in how Bailey presents them I suppose). The critics can romanticize suffering, death, and ignorance all they want, but I'd rather improve my chances of choosing where and how I die.
Bailey has more trouble in other areas - although he very effectively deals with concerns over GM food safety, as a libertarian he's far too inclined to believe that corporations won't misbehave when they get a good deal of control (as in the case of biotech crops - they've obviously helped, but farmers being dependent on one or two companies for their food supply unsettles me).
The book's biggest issue is the format, however. This is adapted from web essays, and it shows - the topics are disjointed, and the chapters are an odd mess of a tour of current technology and batches of moral arguments. This makes it a slow read; one topic bounces to another, and while it's true that moral issues are often dependent on specific technology, taking a more planned approach would have read to a better and more readable book - a broad argument instead of a bunch of discussions of individual topics.
Still, it's often informative, and although due to the fast pace of technology a couple of sections (most notably the stem cell chapter) are somewhat out of date, this will give you a good grounding in a lot of the current science and moral arguments surrounding biotechnology.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
By the end of the twenty-first century, the typical American may attend a family reunion in which five generations are playing together. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, President's Council, University of Pennsylvania, New York, University of California, Francis Fukuyama, Leon Kass, National Bioethics Advisory Commission, Brave New World, Congressional Hunger Center, Jeremy Rifkin, South Korean, University of Virginia, Aqua Bounty, Cambridge University, Daniel Callahan, European Commission, General Assembly, George Annas, Judson Somerville, National Institutes of Health, Roman Catholic, Vandana Shiva, Ageless Bodies, British Columbia New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
By the end of the twenty-first century, the typical American may attend a family reunion in which five generations are playing together. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, President's Council, University of Pennsylvania, New York, University of California, Francis Fukuyama, Leon Kass, National Bioethics Advisory Commission, Brave New World, Congressional Hunger Center, Jeremy Rifkin, South Korean, University of Virginia, Aqua Bounty, Cambridge University, Daniel Callahan, European Commission, General Assembly, George Annas, Judson Somerville, National Institutes of Health, Roman Catholic, Vandana Shiva, Ageless Bodies, British Columbia New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 32
books:
See all 32 books this book cites
- Listening to Prozac: The Landmark Book About Antidepressants and the Remaking of the Self, Revised Edition by Peter D. Kramer on 4 pages
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley on 4 pages
- Genetic Engineering (Opposing Viewpoints) by Greenhaven Press in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution by Francis Fukuyama on page 17, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness by Leon Kass on page 26, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 32 books this book cites
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