Table Of ContentTHE INFLUENCE OF GENETICS ON CONTEMPORARY THINKING
LOGIC, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND THE UNITY OF SCIENCE
VOLUME 6
Editors
ShahidRahman,UniversityofLilleIII,France
JohnSymons,UniversityofTexasatElPaso,U.S.A.
EditorialBoard
JeanPaulvanBendegem,FreeUniversityofBrussels,Belgium
JohanvanBenthem,UniversityofAmsterdam,theNetherlands
JacquesDubucs,UniversityofParisI-Sorbonne,France
AnneFagot-Largeault,CollègedeFrance,France
BasvanFraassen,PrincetonUniversity,U.S.A.
DovGabbay,King’sCollegeLondon,U.K.
JaakkoHintikka,BostonUniversity,U.S.A.
KarelLambert,UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine,U.S.A.
GrahamPriest,UniversityofMelbourne,Australia
GabrielSandu,UniversityofHelsinki,Finland
HeinrichWansing,TechnicalUniversityDresden,Germany
TimothyWilliamson,OxfordUniversity,U.K.
Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science aims to reconsider the question of the unity
ofscienceinlightofrecentdevelopmentsinlogic.Atpresent,nosinglelogical,semantical
or methodological framework dominates the philosophy of science. However, the editors
ofthisseriesbelievethatformaltechniqueslike,forexample,independencefriendlylogic,
dialogical logics, multimodal logics, game theoretic semantics and linear logics, have the
potentialtocastnewlightnobasicissuesinthediscussionoftheunityofscience.
Thisseriesprovidesavenuewherephilosophersandlogicianscanapplyspecifictechnical
insights to fundamental philosophical problems. While the series is open to a wide variety
ofperspectives,includingthestudyandanalysisofargumentationandthecriticaldiscussion
of the relationship between logic and the philosophy of science, the aim is to provide an
integratedpictureofthescientificenterpriseinallitsdiversity.
The Influence of Genetics
on Contemporary Thinking
Edited by
Anne Fagot-Largeault
Collège de France, Paris, France
Shahid Rahman
Université de Lille 3, France
and
Juan Manuel Torres
Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and Universidad Nacional del Sur,
Bahía Blanca, Argentina
AC.I.P.CataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress.
ISBN978-1-4020-5663-5(HB)
ISBN978-1-4020-5664-2(e-book)
PublishedbySpringer,
P.O.Box17,3300AADordrecht,TheNetherlands.
www.springer.com
Printedonacid-freepaper
Coverimage:AdaptationofaPersianastrolabe(Brass,1712–13),fromthecollectionoftheMuseum
oftheHistoryofScience,Oxford.Reproducedbypermission.
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©2007Springer
Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,microfilming,recording
orotherwise,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthePublisher,withtheexception
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface vii
Overview of Contents xi
An Historical Outline and Further Reading xix
Acknowledgements xxv
List of Contributors xxvii
Interview of François Jacob (FJ) by Anne Fagot-Largeault (AFL) xxix
Entretien de François Jacob (FJ) avec Anne Fagot-Largeault (AFL) xliii
PART I Genetics and the Life Sciences
1. Genetics and the Human Lineage: Can genetics throw some light
on the evolution of the human lineage? 3
Francisco José Ayala, Miguel Ángel Capó, Camilo José Cela-Conde
and Marcos Nadal
2. Genetics and Neuroscience: Some examples of their recent
convergence and of the continuing nature–nurture controversy,
with emphasis on sleep physiology 25
Claude Debru
3. Who Made the Genetic Codes, How and by What? 33
Koichiro Matsuno
4. Genetics, Life and Death: Genetics as providing a definition
of life and death 51
Michel Morange
PART II Genetics and Philosophy of Science: The Reductionism
Debate and Beyond
5. Moving Beyond the Influence of Molecular Genetics on the Debate
about Reductionism in Philosophy of Biology 63
Frederic Bouchard
v
vi Table of Contents
6. The Concept of the Gene in Contemporary Biology: Continuity
or Dissolution? 81
Jean Gayon
7. The Influence of Genetics on Philosophy of Science: Classical
genetics and the structuralist view of theories 97
Pablo Lorenzano
8. Epi-Geneticization:Wherebiologicalandphilosophicalthinkingmeet 115
Linda van Speybroeck, Gertrudis van de Vijver and Dani de Waele
PART III Genetics and the Ethical, Legal and Sociological Debate
9. Is DNA Revolutionizing Medicine? 137
Anne Fagot-Largeault
10. The Harm of Being a Clone 151
Jean-Yves Goffi
11. ChildrenofOne’sOwn:Genes,parenthoodandtheillusionofcontrol 165
Jonathan Michael Kaplan
12. Is a Transcultural Law for Human Genetics and Biotechnology
Possible? 181
Carlos M. Romeo-Casabona
13. Genetics and Society: A Different View 195
Juan Manuel Torres
Name Index 207
Subject Index 213
PREFACE
1. INTRODUCTION
Defined as the branch of biology dealing with heredity and the mechanics of gene
transmission from one generation to the next, genetics first made its appearance
on the scientific scene at the beginning of the 20th century when H. de Vries,
C. Correns and E. von Tschermak re-discovered the extraordinary experimental
work of Mendel. It was this re-discovery that in just a few years gave rise to
the unprecedented and explosive development of a new experimental approach in
biology which was to provide the foundations of our modern understanding of
medicalandevolutionarybiologicalphenomena–arevolution,onemightsay.And
yet it is only as of the 1970s that we speak of a “revolution of genetics”, as if
the birth of genetics itself decades earlier had little or no transcendence in the
historyofscience.Thisseemingparadoxmaybeexplainedbydrawingadistinction
betweentherevolutionsignifyingthebirthwithintherealmofbasicscienceofthe
very concept of genetics at the beginning of last century and the “revolution of
genetics”whichwenowadaysassociatewiththeoutstandingsuccessofgeneticsas
amethodologywherehypothesesongenefunctionsaretested,especiallyinrelation
to genetic engineering. It is not really the traditional distinction between pure
and applied science which is here at stake but rather a complex relation between
two aspects of science in constant interchange, namely theory and practice, where
one cannot be fully developed without the other. Indeed genetic engineering has
become indispensable by the acquisition of fundamental knowledge on genetics.
In some respects the initial emergence of genetics might be assimilated to the
emergence of a paradigm, Mendel’s laws becoming rapidly and firmly embraced
by leading members of the scientific community to replace former paradigms by
an interweaving of controversies within several sciences searching to elucidate
problems old and new.
The interplay of these two aspects of science and research gives us insight into
the capital importance of genetics today. Genetics as both theory and praxis is
omnipresent in contemporary thinking; there are few, if any, disciplines where
genetics does not exert its influence in one way or another. It is this increasing
pertinence of genetics to the sciences that explains the inclusion of this volume
in the series Logic, Epistemology and the Unity of Science: a common factor in
science becomes ipso facto a factor of unity.
vii
viii Preface
Genetics may not be of direct relevance to all fields of science, and yet for a
numberofreasonstheconceptofgeneticsisatthecentreofmuchoftoday’sscien-
tificdiscussionandsocialdebate.Geneticshasbecomethetouchstoneforresolving
many of the controversies in basic research dealing with the nature, history, and
evolutionoflife,aswellastheoriginofmanandethnicgroups,providinguswith
the tools that have led to some of the most astonishing advances in determining
the structure and function of living entities and being able to modify organisms.
Geneticallyengineeredproducts,substantialalterationsinplants,animalsandmicro-
organisms, and the manufacture of vital pharmaceutical products all stem from the
same source. The domino effect of these transformations is likely to bring about
even more dramatic changes in our lives as time passes, triggering more heated
debate on the ecological, economic, and social impacts of this potential.
The availability of genomic information and in particular the completion of the
HumanGenomeProjectin2003bringswithitconsequencesthatwecanonlybegin
to imagine. The very same principle that teaches us how human genes instruct
cells to build entities and regulate organic processes also enables us to identify
species,organismsandindividuals,measureevolutionarydistances,andultimately
comprehend the limits of our own physical existence.
One of the most outstanding consequences of contemporary genetics and its
practical implications is found in the medical sciences, where genetic testing for
hereditary disorders and disease risk is a growing reality. As with the genetic
modification of living beings, these new techniques for detecting potential health
problems and the accompanying therapies developed for treating genetic diseases
have consequences that go far beyond their initial focus, impacting on health and
health-caretheoryandpolicyandevengeneratingnewconceptsandchaptersinthe
world of social science, jurisprudence and economics.
The far-reaching impact of genetics thus goes beyond the natural, medical and
socialsciences:contemporarygeneticsalsoaddsanewdimensiontoclassicaltopics
in philosophy, in particular epistemology and ethics. Epistemological doctrines
dealingwiththestructureoftheories,reduction,andthestatusofscientificconcepts
encounteringeneticsanewfieldofapplication.Andfromtheethicalviewpoint,the
spectreofafuturesocietydominatedbyeugenicpracticesandthedesignofgeneric
offspring confronts practical philosophy with an unprecedented challenge. In the
light of such a scenario it is no exaggeration to say that contemporary genetics is
to philosophy what physics was in the 17th century to theology and metaphysics,
with Newton’s breakthrough in modern thinking.
The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking reflects how genetics has
transcended its original boundaries to become a key branch of science to crucial
issuesacrossawidepaletteofdisciplines.Chapterbychapteritshowshowgenetics
formsthebasisofmodern-daybiology,makingthevolumeespeciallyattractivefor
scholars interested in learning about the great scientific developments of the last
and current centuries.
Preface ix
Following a suggestion of Philippe Huneman (IHPST-Paris), who provided an
extremely competent review of an early draft of the manuscript, we have divided
the book into chapters grouped according to the following main topics:
•
Part I Genetics and the Life Sciences
•
Part II Genetics and Philosophy of Science: The Reductionism Debate and
Beyond
•
Part III Genetics and the Ethical, Legal and Sociological Debate
An interview of François Jacob by Anne Fagot-Largeault precede these chapters.
Let us now present a brief overview of the contents of each chapter.
