Review
This book offers a much-needed examination of recent developments that have led to the widespread politicization of medicine, human life, and biotechnology. . . . Nikolas Rose concludes that these developments have profound consequences for who we think we are, and who we want to be.
(LSE News and Views )
From tattoos to organ transplants, cosmetic surgery to circumcision, obsessive dieting to exercise, the practice of manipulating bodies is increasingly widespread. But have we passed into a new phase of manipulation evidenced by the prevalent use of medicine to adjust our moods, enhance sports performance, slow ageing or alter fetuses? Nikolas Rose . . . argues that a threshold has been crossed into a world of 'biological citizenship' in which humans view themselves at the molecular level, medicine is based on customization, and biology poses fewer and fewer limits on life. For Rose, however, this is not always a bad thing.
(Jessica Lovaas Journal of Biosocial Science )
(LSE News and Views )
From tattoos to organ transplants, cosmetic surgery to circumcision, obsessive dieting to exercise, the practice of manipulating bodies is increasingly widespread. But have we passed into a new phase of manipulation evidenced by the prevalent use of medicine to adjust our moods, enhance sports performance, slow ageing or alter fetuses? Nikolas Rose . . . argues that a threshold has been crossed into a world of 'biological citizenship' in which humans view themselves at the molecular level, medicine is based on customization, and biology poses fewer and fewer limits on life. For Rose, however, this is not always a bad thing.
(Jessica Lovaas Journal of Biosocial Science )
Review
While philosophers are still trying to bridge the 'mind/body' gap, Nikolas Rose shows that this gap is evaporating under our very eyes. Are we posthumans then? Not necessarily. This long and detailed inquiry considers another, rather incredible, option: a complete rethinking of what the Fathers of the Church used to call 'incarnation.'
(Bruno Latour, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines, Paris )
(Bruno Latour, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines, Paris )


