Altering Nature

This interdisciplinary book offers a rich exploration of the meanings of 'nature' and 'the natural' as religious, philosophical and moral norms. Readers will find an extensive and critical review of recent ethical discussions of developments in biotechnology.

B. Andrew Lustig, Baruch A. Brody, and Gerald P. McKenny In this second volume of the Altering Nature project, we situate specific religious and policy discussions of four broad areas of biotechnology within the context of our interdisciplinary research on concepts of nature and the natural in the first volume (Altering Nature, Concepts of Nature and the Natural in Biotechnology Debates). In the first volume, we invited five groups of scholars to explore the diverse conc- tions of nature and the natural that shape moral judgments about human alterations of nature, as especially exemplified by recent developments in biotechnology. A careful reading of such developments reveals that assessments of themwhether positive or negativeare often informed by different conceptual interpretations of nature and the natural, with differing implications for judgments about the app- priateness of particular alterations of nature. These varying interpretations of nature and the natural often result from the distinctive perspectives that characterize va- ous scholarly disciplines. Therefore, in an effort to explore the variety of meanings that attend discussions of the concepts of nature and the natural, the contributors to the first volume of Altering Nature addressed those concepts from five different disciplinary vantages. A first group of scholars analyzed a range of religious and spiritual perspectives on concepts of nature and the natural. Their research highlighted the thematic, h- torical, and methodological touchstones in those traditions that shape their persp- tives on nature.

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

Klappentext

The two volumes of Altering Nature consider the complex ways that concepts of 'nature' and 'the natural' are understood and the relevance of those understandings to discussions of biotechnology. Volume One, Concepts of 'Nature' and 'The Natural' in Biotechnology Debates, offers nuanced accounts of the ways that nature is invoked and interpreted, both descriptively and prescriptively, by different disciplines, including perspectives from spirituality and religion, philosophy, science and medicine, law and economics, and aesthetics. In the context of that broad discussion, Volume Two, Religion, Biotechnology, and Public Policy, reviews recent religious and ethical analyses of four specific areas of biotechnology: assisted reproduction, genetic therapy and enhancement, human-machine incorporation, and biodiversity. It identifies and explores the richer normative themes that inform particular debates and suggests ways that policy choices in biotechnology may be illuminated by devoting greater attention to religious perspectives.

Inhalt
Compatible Contradictions: Religion and the Naturalization of Assisted Reproduction.- Religion, Conceptions of Nature, and Assisted Reproductive Technology Policy.- Religious Traditions and Genetic Enhancement.- How Bioethics Can Inform Policy Decisions About Genetic Enhancement.- The Machine in the Body: Ethical and Religious Issues in the Bodily Incorporation of Mechanical Devices.- Medical Devices Policy and the Humanities: Examining Implantable Cardiac Devices.- Biodiversity and Biotechnology.- Swimming Upstream: Regulating Genetically Modified Salmon.