2005 Handbooks

The aim of the unit is to introduce students to the most pressing ethical questions and concerns raised by current developments in biotechnology, especially in the sphere of genetic technology. The first section of the unit provides an introduction to ethical reasoning, to issues of social justice and to the relationship between social values and scientific enquiry in the context of biotechnology. The second section focuses on the ethics of gene technology in the spheres of human medicine and reproduction, including genetic screening/testing, genetic therapies (somatic cell and germline cell therapies), genetic enhancement, and cloning. In the third section we explore the impact of biotechnologies on other aspects of human, non-human animal and environmental wellbeing, including engineering of plants and animals (GMOs); genetically engineered food; genetic screening for criminal databases and insurance purposes; bioprospecting for pharmaceutical resources. The final section of the unit examines the ethical implications of the search for genetic underpinnings for behavioural traits such as aggression/criminality, addiction, intelligence, and homosexuality.