Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Altering Nature

Volume I: Concepts of ‘Nature’ and ‘The Natural’ in Biotechnology Debates

  • Book
  • © 2008

Overview

Editors:
  1. B. Andrew Lustig

    1. Davidson College, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Baruch A. Brody

    1. Baylor College of Medicine, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  3. Gerald P. McKenny

    1. University of Notre Dame, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • A rich interdisciplinary exploration of the meanings of ‘nature’ and ‘the natural’ as religious, philosophical and moral norms
  • An extensive critical review of recent ethical discussions of developments in biotechnology
  • An analysis of the implications of different interpretations of nature as a norm for policy discussions on specific topics in biotechnology

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Medicine (PHME, volume 97)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • B. Andrew Lustig, Baruch A. Brody, Gerald P. McKenny
    Pages 1-12

  3. Spiritual and Religious Concepts of Nature

    • Aaron L. Mackler, Ebrahim Moosa, Allen Verhey, Anne Carolyn Klein, Kurt Peters
    Pages 13-62

  4. Philosophical Approaches to Nature

    • John H. Zammito, Philip J. Ivanhoe, Helen Longino, Phillip R. Sloan
    Pages 63-136

  5. Scientific and Medical Concepts of Nature in the Modern Period in Europe and North America

    • Laurence B. McCullough, John Caskey, Thomas R. Cole, Andrew Wear
    Pages 137-198

  6. Ethical Challenges of Patenting “Nature”: Legal and Economic Accounts of Altered Nature as Property

    • Mary Anderlik Majumder, Margaret M. Byrne, Elias Bongmba, Leslie S. Rothenberg, Nancy Neveloff Dubler
    Pages 199-273

  7. Technogenesis: Aesthetic Dimensions of Art and Biotechnology

    • Suzanne Anker, Susan Lindee, Edward A. Shanken, Dorothy Nelkin
    Pages 275-321

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 323-332
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

B. Andrew Lustig, Baruch A. Brody, and Gerald P. McKenny Nearly every week the general public is treated to an announcement of another actual or potential “breakthrough” in biotechnology. Headlines trumpet advances in assisted reproduction, current or prospective experiments in cloning, and devel- ments in regenerative medicine, stem cell technologies, and tissue engineering. Scientific and popular accounts explore the perils and the possibilities of enhancing human capacities by computer-based, biomolecular, or mechanical means through advances in artificial intelligence, genetics, and nanotechnology. Reports abound concerning ever more sophisticated genetic techniques being introduced into ag- culture and animal husbandry, as well as efforts to enhance and protect biodiversity. Given the pace of such developments, many insightful commentators have proclaimed the 21st century as the “biotechnology century. ” Despite a significant literature on the morality of these particular advances in biotechnology, deeper ethical analysis has often been lacking. Our preliminary review of that literature suggested that current discussions of normative issues in biotechnology have suffered from two major deficiencies. First, the discussions have been too often piecemeal in character, limited to after-the-fact analyses of particular issues that provoked the debate, and unconnected to larger concepts and themes. Second, a crucial missing element of those discussions has been the failure to reflect explicitly on the diverse disciplinary conceptions of nature and the natural that shape moral judgments about the legitimacy of specific forms of research and their applications.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Davidson College, USA

    B. Andrew Lustig

  • Baylor College of Medicine, USA

    Baruch A. Brody

  • University of Notre Dame, USA

    Gerald P. McKenny

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation