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The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science Volume 6

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The Influence of Genetics on Contemporary Thinking Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science Volume 6 THE INFLUENCE OF GENETICS ON CONTEMPORARY THINKING LOGIC, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND THE UNITY OF SCIENCE VOLUME 6 Editors Shahid Rahman, University of Lille III, France John Symons, University of Texas at El Paso, U.S.A. Editorial Board Jean Paul van Bendegem, Free University of Brussels, Belgium Johan van Benthem, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands Jacques Dubucs, University of Paris I-Sorbonne, France Anne Fagot-Largeault, Collège de France, France Bas van Fraassen, Princeton University, U.S.A. Dov Gabbay, King’s College London, U.K. Jaakko Hintikka, Boston University, U.S.A. Karel Lambert, University of California, Irvine, U.S.A. Graham Priest, University of Melbourne, Australia Gabriel Sandu, University of Helsinki, Finland Heinrich Wansing, Technical University Dresden, Germany Timothy Williamson, Oxford University, U.K. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science aims to reconsider the question of the unity of science in light of recent developments in logic. At present, no single logical, semantical or methodological framework dominates the philosophy of science. However, the editors of this series believe that formal techniques like, for example, independence friendly logic, dialogical logics, multimodal logics, game theoretic semantics and linear logics, have the potential to cast new light no basic issues in the discussion of the unity of science. This series provides a venue where philosophers and logicians can apply specific technical insights to fundamental philosophical problems. While the series is open to a wide variety of perspectives, including the study and analysis of argumentation and the critical discussion of the relationship between logic and the philosophy of science, the aim is to provide an integrated picture of the scientific enterprise in all its diversity. 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 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-4020-5663-5 (HB) ISBN 978-1-4020-5664-2 (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. www.springer.com Printed on acid-free paper Cover image: Adaptation of a Persian astrolabe (Brass, 1712–13), from the collection of the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. Reproduced by permission. All Rights Reserved © 2007 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. 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: Where biological and philosophical thinking meet 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. Children of One’s Own: Genes, parenthood and the illusion of control 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 medical and evolutionary biological phenomena – a revolution, one might say. 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 history of science. This seeming paradox may be explained by drawing a distinction between the revolution signifying the birth within the realm of basic science of the very concept of genetics at the beginning of last century and the “revolution of genetics” which we nowadays associate with the outstanding success of genetics as a methodology where hypotheses on gene functions are tested, especially in relation 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 number of reasons the concept of genetics is at the centre of much of today’s scien- tific discussion and social debate. Genetics has become the touchstone for resolving many of the controversies in basic research dealing with the nature, history, and evolution of life, as well as the origin of man and ethnic groups, providing us with 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. Genetically engineered products, substantial alterations in plants, animals and micro- 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 Human Genome Project in 2003 brings with it consequences that we can only begin 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, organisms and individuals, measure evolutionary distances, and ultimately 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-care theory and policy and even generating new concepts and chapters in the world of social science, jurisprudence and economics. The far-reaching impact of genetics thus goes beyond the natural, medical and social sciences: contemporary genetics also adds a new dimension to classical topics in philosophy, in particular epistemology and ethics. Epistemological doctrines dealing with the structure of theories, reduction, and the status of scientific concepts encounter in genetics a new field of application. And from the ethical viewpoint, the spectre of a future society dominated by eugenic practices and the design of generic 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.
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