Commentary
Genetic modification and genetic determinism
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* Corresponding author: David B Resnik resnikd@niehs.nih.gov
1 Bioethicist and IRB Vice Chair, NIEHS/NIH, Box 12233, Mail Drop NH06, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
2 Harvard Law School, 101 Madera Lane, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, USA
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2006, 1:9 doi:10.1186/1747-5341-1-9
Published: 26 June 2006Abstract
In this article we examine four objections to the genetic modification of human beings: the freedom argument, the giftedness argument, the authenticity argument, and the uniqueness argument. We then demonstrate that each of these arguments against genetic modification assumes a strong version of genetic determinism. Since these strong deterministic assumptions are false, the arguments against genetic modification, which assume and depend upon these assumptions, are therefore unsound. Serious discussion of the morality of genetic modification, and the development of sound science policy, should be driven by arguments that address the actual consequences of genetic modification for individuals and society, not by ones propped up by false or misleading biological assumptions.