This book addresses well-known issues - the ethical, legal, and social implications of human genetics - but does so from an unusual perspective: the perspective of the scientific community itself. In distinction to what is common in the ELSI literature, the book also discusses bioethical method. A new kind of casuistry is developed on the basis of the empirical findings of cognitive semantics. It will be of interest to philosophers, bioethicists, geneticists, and policymakers.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1: Moral Responsibility and Moral Imagination. 1. The Metaphor of Moral Responsibility. 2. Engineering or Tinkering' in Moral Reasoning? 3. Imaginative Casuistry vs. Other Normative Positions. 4. Imaginative Casuistry in Bioethics. 2: Moral Responsibility in Science. 1. Research Ethics. 2. Responsibility of'. 3. Responsibility to'. 4. Responsibility for': Choice of Subject. 5. Responsibility for': Research and Publication. 6. Responsibility for': Application. 7. Content and Form of Responsibility: General Proposals. 3: The Human Genome Project: Justification, Promotion, and Access to Results. 1. Summary and Application: Responsible Genetics. 2. Dialogue and the Human Genome Project. 3. Justification of the HGP. 4. Promotion of the HGP. 5. Genetic Knowledge: Open Access or Private Patents? 4: Gene Hunting, Genetic Testing, and Genetically Tailor-Made Drugs. 1. Dialogue in Genetic Research and Application. 2. Gene Hunting in Families. 3. Gene Hunting in Ethnic Groups. 4. Genetic Testing and Genetic Counseling. 5. Genetic Screening and Public Health Work. 6. Genetic Information in Employment and Insurance. 7. Genetically Tailor-Made Drugs. 5: Genetic Modification of Humans and Laboratory Animals. 1. Dialogue and Gene Therapy. 2. Germline Gene Therapy. 3. Genetic Enhancement. 4. Animals Used inHuman Genetics Research. 6: Eugenics and the Long Term Goals of Reprogenetic Medicine. 1. Responsibility for Applications of Genetics: Professional Policy. 2. Dialogue on the Long Term Goals of Reprogenetic Medicine. 3. Learning from History: Eugenics. 4. Genotypic Prevention vs. Reproductive Autonomy: Three Prototypical Views. 5. Proposals regarding the Long Term Goals of Reprogenetic Medicine. Bibliography. Index.