Behavioral Genetics: The Clash of Culture and Biology

Scientists conducting human genome research are identifying genetic disorders and traits at an accelerating rate. Genetic factors in human behaviour appear particularly complex and slow to emerge, yet have begun raising their own set of difficult ethical, legal and social issues. In his volume, Ronald Carson and Mark Rothstein bring together well-known experts from the fields of genetics, ethics, neurosciences, psychiatry, sociology and law, to address the cultural and biological underpinnings of behavioural genetics. The authors discuss a 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 behavioural genetic information. Throughout, they focus on two basic concerns: the quality of the science behind behavioural genetic claims and the need to formulate an appropriate, ethically defensible response when the science turns out to be good.