Behavioral Genetics: The Clash of Culture and Biology

AUTHORS: Floyd E. Bloom (Foreword), Ronald A. Carson (Editor), Mark A. Rothstein (Editor) PRODUCT DETAILS: Paperback: 224 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0801872303 Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 12 ounces

 

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Book Description

Scientists conducting human genome research are identifying genetic disorders and traits at an accelerating rate. Genetic factors in human behavior appear particularly complex and slow to emerge, yet are raising their own set of difficult ethical, legal, and social issues. In Behavioral Genetics: The Clash of Culture and Biology, Ronald Carson and Mark Rothstein bring together well-known experts from the fields of genetics, ethics, neuroscience, psychiatry, sociology, and law to address the cultural, legal, and biological underpinnings of behavioral genetics. The authors discuss a broad range of topics, including the ethical questions arising from gene therapy and screening, molecular research in psychiatry, and the legal ramifications and social consequences of behavioral genetic information. Throughout, they focus on two basic concerns: the quality of the science behind behavioral genetic claims and the need to formulate an appropriate, ethically defensible response when the science turns out to be good.

Book Info

Univ. of Texas, Galveston. Addresses the cultural, legal, and biological underpinnings of behavioral genetics. Focuses on the quality of science behind behavioral genetic claims and the need to formulate an appropriate, ethically defensible response when the science turns out to be good. For students and the general public. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ronald A. Carson is the Harris L. Kempner Distinguished Professor in the Humanities in Medicine and director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Mark A. Rothstein is a professor of bioethics, health, law at the University of Louisville.

 

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

The Clash: Biology Calling, November 13, 2000

This book provides a very useful introduction to key debates in and about behavioral genetics. A nice range of topics and perspectives is provided, many by leaders in the fields of biology, psychology, sociology, ethics, etc. Several articles (such as those by tobin, duster, and carson) are extremely insightful and informative, and purchase of the book is worthwhile for the articles alone.

(If only it were in paperback!)

But, like many edited volumes that cover "hot" topics, this book suffers from a lack of coherence. As noted by the professional reviewer, one must wonder to what "clash" the editors refer - even when contained in the same volume, authors of different perspectives seem to talk past each other rather than "clash," and the editors don't really put the debates in a perspective that illuminates the perceived relationship between the two constructs of biology and culture. Indeed, the book jacket reveals the focus to be quite different than advertised: "Throughout, [the authors] focus on two basic concerns: the quality of the science behind behavioral genetic claims and the need to formulate an appropriate, ethically defensible response when the science turns out to be good." While this is certainly a worthwhile topic, it is not nearly as intellectually challenging or interesting as the title promises. Nevertheless, some selections deliver.