The right not to know is an intriguing concept in this information age. Can knowledge be damaging? And within the genetic moral code, can ignorance be bliss?
Once genetic information is revealed without request, the potential carrier has to deal with the implications of this knowledge while not having the time to emotionally prepare. The privilege [...]
Ethical questions around the disclosure of genetic information to family members can contribute to the nature versus nurture debate. A transmitted mutation is given by nature, but it is in being informed of its existence that behaviour may change.
Although genetic information is inherently familial, to expect it to be distributed between all family members is [...]
“…irresponsibility is different from wrongness, and almost completely separable from the actual results of what one does. Acting irresponsibly involves the manner in which one makes a decision, considered in the light of possible outcomes of that decision, but not determined by what actually happens.” (Andre, Fleck, Tomlinson 2000)
Does responsibility rely on intentions? Can one [...]
Introduction of genetic technologies resulted in the redefining of our conception of family. By prioritising biological rather than social relationships, geneticisation has led to the biologisation of kinship. (Finkler, 2005)
Emphasising our biological connectedness redefines our perceptions of the family structure. The social group which assembles the family has many grey areas generated by behaviours, the [...]
My assumption is that the concept of information is crucial in this context. In the molecular genetic perspective, information at the same time serves as the ‘code of life’ and as the ‘key to freedom’. If the body is nothing other than a genetic program, then disease points to a communication problem. However, this means [...]
Also tagged code, freedom, responsibilityKnowledge changes our perception of biology, replacing natural chaos with mathematical order. Statistics, quantification, calculations, numbers, charts and graphs, externalise and give form to our bodily functions and components. With a data sheet, there is suddenly simplified information to consider, and a mathematical equasion eludes that there are right and wrong answers.
Also tagged BRCA, gene, visualisation