Research Catalog

Title

Brutes or angels : human possibility in the age of biotechnology / James T. Bradley.

Author

Bradley, James T., 1948-

Publication

Tuscaloosa : The University of Alabama Press, [2013]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xviii, 338 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"With stem cell research, Dolly the cloned sheep, in vitro fertilization, age retardation, and pharmaceutical mind enhancement, humankind is now faced with decisions that it has never before had to consider. The thoughtfulness, or lack of it, that we bring to those decisions will largely determine the future character of the living world. Brutes or Angels will facilitate informed choice making about the personal use of biotechnologies and the formulation of public policies governing their development and use. Ten biotechnologies that impact humans are considered: stem cell research, embryo selection, human genomics, gene therapies, human reproductive cloning, age retardation, cognition enhancement, the engineering of nonhuman organisms, nanobiology, and synthetic biology. With deft and assured use of metaphors, analogies, diagrams, and photographs, James T. Bradley introduces important biological principles and the basic procedures used in biotechnology. Various ethical issues--personhood, personal identity, privacy, ethnic discrimination, distributive justice, authenticity and human nature, and the significance of mortality in the human life cycle--are presented in a clear and unbiased manner. Personal reflection and group dialogue are encouraged by questions at the end of each chapter, making this book not only a general guide to better informed and nuanced thinking on these complex and challenging topics but also an appropriate text for bioethics courses in university science departments and for adult education classes."--Book jacket.

Subjects

• Genetic Techniques > ethics
• Genetic engineering > Moral and ethical aspects
• Human Genome Project Moral and ethical aspects
• Genetic Engineering > ethics
• Biotechnology > ethics

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Cells and molecules: the unity of life -- Stem cells : embryos, therapeutic cloning, and personhood -- Embryo selection : preimplantation genetic diagnosis -- The human genome project : spin-offs and fallout -- Human diversity, genes, and medicine : richness and dangers -- Genetic enhancement : humankind healing and redesigning itself -- Human reproductive cloning : sameness, uniqueness, and personal identity -- Age retardation : chasing immortality for better or worse -- The mind : neuroenhancement and neuroethics -- Synthetic biology : from cocreator to creator.

Call Number

JFE 14-6435

ISBN

• 9780817317881 (trade cloth : alk. paper)
• 0817317880 (trade cloth : alk. paper)
• 9780817386580 (ebook) (canceled/invalid)
• 0817386580 (ebook) (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2012035096

OCLC

820665358

Author

Bradley, James T., 1948-

Title

Brutes or angels : human possibility in the age of biotechnology / James T. Bradley.

Publisher

Tuscaloosa : The University of Alabama Press, [2013]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Connect to:

ebrary

Research Call Number

JFE 14-6435