Determinist rethorics in the human genome
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-31662006000300005Keywords:
Human Genome Project, Philosophy of science, Genetics, Biotechnology, Molecular biologyAbstract
The popularity obtained by the Human Genome Project is closely related to the political and rhetorical uses of genetic determinism, a notion which increasingly cannot be reconciled with the empirical results of on-going genomic research. The complexity that has been uncovered in the human genome and in its interactions with the environment implies that a simple and unidirectional notion of causality cannot be maintained, contrary to a presupposition of the idea of the gene as the sole carrier of information, an idea that contributes to sustain the doctrine of genetic determinism. However, a complex of informational and/or linguistic metaphors lives on in the texts published by molecular biologists in the scientific press, most notably in the issues published February 15th and 16th of 2001 by the high impact journals Nature and Science, respectively. These metaphors generate an ambiguous type of discourse that modulates various nuances of deterministic rhetoric, depending on whether it addresses peers or the lay public. Critics of technoscience should challenge the field of genomics to drastically reshape the metaphors which have supported its hegemonic research agenda.Downloads
References
Baltimore, D. Our genome unveiled. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 814-6, 15 Feb. 2001.
Birney, E. et al. Mining the draft human genome. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 827-8, 15 Feb. 2001.
Bobrow, M. & Thomas, S. Patents in a genetic age. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 763-4, 15 Feb. 2001.
Bork, P. & Copley, R. Filling in the gaps. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 818-20, 15 Feb. 2001.
Butler, D. Publication of human genomes sparks fresh sequence debate. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 747-8, 15 Feb. 2001a.
Butler, D. Are you ready for the revolution? Nature, 409, 6822, p. 758-60, 15 Feb. 2001b.
Chakravarti, A. ... to a future of genetic medicine. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 822-3, 15 Feb. 2001.
Claverie, J, M. What if there are only 30,000 human genes? Science, 291, 5507, p. 1255-7, 16 Feb. 2001.
Collins, F. et al. A vision for the future of genomics research. A blueprint for the genomic era. Nature, 422, 6934, p. 835-47, 24 Apr. 2003a.
Collins, F. The Human Genome Project: lessons from large-scale biology. Science, 300, 5617, p. 286-96, 24 Apr. 2003b.
Dennis, C. et al. Everyone’s genome. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 813, 15 Feb. 2001.
Dulbecco, R. Os genes e o nosso futuro. Tradução M. M. Lichaa. São Paulo: Best Seller, 1997.
Frazier, M. et al. Realizing the potential of the genome revolution. The genomes to life program. Science, 300, 5617, p. 290-93, 11 Apr. 2003.
Galas, D. J. Making sense of the sequence. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1257-60, 16 Feb. 2001.
Human genomes, public and private. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 745, 15 Feb. 2001. Editorial.
Jeffords, J. M. & Daschle, T. Political issues in the genome era. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1249-51, 16 Feb. 2001.
Judson, H. F. The eighth day of creation. Makers of the revolution in biology. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1996.
Judson, H. F. Talking about the genome. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 769, 15 Feb. 2001.
Kay, L. E. Who wrote the book of life? A history of the genetic code. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000.
Kevles, D. J. & Hood, L. (Ed.). The code of codes. Scientific and social issues in the Human Genome Project. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Lacey, H. Valores e atividade científica. São Paulo: Discurso Editorial, 1998.
Lacey, H. Is science value free? New York: Routledge, 1999.
Lander, E. S. et al. Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 860-921, 15 Feb. 2001.
Lewontin, R. C. In the beginning was the word. Science, 291, 5507, pp. 1263-4, 16 Feb. 2001.
Lewontin, R. C.; Rose, S. & Kamin, L. J. Not in our genes: biology, ideology, and human nature. New York: Pantheon Books, 1985.
Lindee, M. S. Watson’s world. Science, 300, 5618, p. 432-4, 18 Apr. 2003.
Malakoff, D. & Service, R. F. Genomania meets the bottom line. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1193-203, 16 Feb. 2001.
Marshall, E. Sharing the glory, not the credit. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1189-93, 16 Feb. 2001
McGuffin, P.; Riley, B. & Plomin, R. Toward behavioral genomics. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1232-49, 16 Feb. 2001.
Nightingale, P. & Martin, P. The myth of the biotech revolution. Trends in Biotechnology, 22, 11, p. 564-9, Nov. 2004.
Olby, R. The path to the double helix. New York: Dover, 1994.
Olson, M. V. Clone by clone by clone. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 816- 8, 15 Feb. 2001.
Pääbo, S. The human genome and our view of ourselves. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1219-20, 16 Feb. 2001.
Peltonen, L. & McKusick, V. A. Dissecting human disease in the postgenomic era. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1224-9, 16 Feb. 2001.
Pennisi, E. The human genome. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1177-80, 16 Feb. 2001.
Pollard, T. D. Genomics, the cytoskeleton and motility. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 842-3, 15 Feb. 2001.
Roberts, L. Controversial from the start. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1182-8, 16 Feb. 2001.
Rubin, G. M. Comparing species. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 820-1, 15 Feb. 2001.
Schrödinger, E. ¿Qué es la vida? Tradução R. Guerrero. Barcelona: Tusquets, 1997.
Tupler, R.; Perini, G. & Green, M. Expressing the human genome. Nature, 409, 6822, p. 832-3, 15 Feb. 2001.
Venter, J. C. et al. The sequence of the human genome. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1304-51, 16 Feb. 2001.
Venter, J. C. Environmental genome shotgun sequencing of the Sargasso Sea. Science, 304, 5667, p. 66-74, 2 Apr. 2004.
Vogel, G. Watching genes build a body. Science, 291, 5507, p. 1181, 16 Feb. 2001.
Watson, J. D. A passion for DNA. New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2000.
Watson, J. D. & Berry, A. DNA. The secret of life. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2003.
Watson, J. D. & Crick, F. H. C. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171, 4356, p. 737-8, 25 Apr. 1953.
Wilson, E. O. A unidade do conhecimento. Consiliência. Tradução I. Korylowski. Rio de Janeiro: Campus, 1999.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2006 Scientiae Studia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A revista detém os direitos autorais de todos os textos nela publicados. Os autores estão autorizados a republicar seus textos mediante menção da publicação anterior na revista. A revista adota a Licença Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.
