Is Genetic Selection a Good Idea?

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there would be no decision, in the strong sense of the word, in ethics, in politics, no decision, and thus no responsibility, without the experience of some undecidability. If you don't experience some undecidability, then the decision would simply be the application of a programme, the consequence of a premiss or of a matrix. So a decision has to go through some impossibility in order for it to be a decision. If we knew what to do, if i knew in terms of knowledge what I have to do before the decision, then the decision would not be a decision. It would simply be the application of a rule, the consequence of a premiss, and there would be no problem, there would be no decision. ethics and politics, therefore, start with undecidability" (Derrida, 1999).

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Presentation at the Hastings Center 2006

Transcript of Is Genetic Selection a Good Idea?

Page 1: Is Genetic Selection a Good Idea?

there would be no decision, in the strong sense of the word, in ethics, in politics, no decision, and thus no responsibility, without the experience of some undecidability. If you don't experience some undecidability, then the decision would simply be the application of a programme, the consequence of a premiss or of a matrix. So a decision has to go through some impossibility in order for it to be a decision. If we knew what to do, if i knew in terms of knowledge what I have to do before the decision, then the decision would not be a decision. It would simply be the application of a rule, the consequence of a premiss, and there would be no problem, there would be no decision. ethics and politics, therefore, start with undecidability" (Derrida, 1999).

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Genetic Selection for SportIs

a good idea?

(andy miah, the hastings center, 7 December, 2006)

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anythingIs

a good idea?

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playing the lotteryIs

a good idea?

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riding a motorcycleIs

a good idea?

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Is

a good idea?

What

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Is

a good idea?life

What

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a good idea?

What

life

should we value(in sport) to have

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a good idea?

What

life

should we value(in sport) to havegenetic selection

Genetic tests

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

ideas / Miah & Rich (2006) Genetic Tests for Ability, Sport, Education & SocietyUK Sport meeting, co-chaired with Julian SavulescuBritish Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences working groupUniversity of Glasgow MPhil in Medical Law dissertation (Professor Sheila McLean)

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Positive function /Constitutive of sport’s technological character.Genetics in Society - if only there were a genetic supermarket!.Enhance risk management in sport.Channel resources into most likely winners.Enhance autonomy in self-selecting sport.More genetic data, greater anti-doping potential.

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selectionathletes

parents

coaches

authorities

sponsors

EliteAmateur

AmbivalentMediocre

Non-athlete

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Objections to selection /The Incomplete Knowledge Objection.The Competitive Logic Objection.The Specific Child ObjectionThe Prejudice Objection.The Diminishing Openness Objection.

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Beyond ethics /Locating the burden of proof.The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital.

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Beyond ethics /Locating the burden of proof.The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital.

Interfere with basic liberties of others?Involve harm or risk of harm?Broader social costs?

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Beyond ethics /Locating the burden of proof.The Accumulation of Biocultural Capital.

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The term 'cultural capital' refers to the knowledge of and skills in the discursive realm relating to society, the arts, leisure, sport, science, politics and all the other elements recognised as 'culture' in society at large.'….'[Bourdieu's] interest is in how society evaluates this cultural capital through visible and tacit systems of reward and punishment.

[Bourdieu] displays a clear interest in the unfinishedness of the body, and maintains a more comprehensive view of the materiality of human embodiment than those theorists who focus exclusively on language, consciousness, or even the body as flesh. Bourdieu recognises that acts of labour are required to turn bodies into social entities and that these acts influence how people develop and hold the physical shape of their bodies, and learn how to present their bodies through styles of walk, talk and dress. Far from being natural, these represent highly skilled and socially differentiated accomplishments which start to be learned early in childhood. As it develops, the body bears the indisputable imprint of the individual's social class (Bourdieu, 1984).

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The term 'cultural capital' refers to the knowledge of and skills in the discursive realm relating to society, the arts, leisure, sport, science, politics and all the other elements recognised as 'culture' in society at large.'….'[Bourdieu's] interest is in how society evaluates this cultural capital through visible and tacit systems of reward and punishment.

[Bourdieu] displays a clear interest in the unfinishedness of the body, and maintains a more comprehensive view of the materiality of human embodiment than those theorists who focus exclusively on language, consciousness, or even the body as flesh. Bourdieu recognises that acts of labour are required to turn bodies into social entities and that these acts influence how people develop and hold the physical shape of their bodies, and learn how to present their bodies through styles of walk, talk and dress. Far from being natural, these represent highly skilled and socially differentiated accomplishments which start to be learned early in childhood. As it develops, the body bears the indisputable imprint of the individual's social class (Bourdieu, 1984).

bio

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should we value(in sport) to have

a good life ?

genetic selection

Conclusion /Yes, to positive value.No, to requirement to test; though unlikely that can avoid this.Yes, to it informing critical thought about ones future and the role of genetics.No, to it determining choices.

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HGC, Inside Information /Sensitive vs. non-sensitivePrivate vs. observableLow vs. high informational impact.Recessive vs dominantUnifactorial vs multifactorialDiagnostic vs predictiveScreening (population) vs Testing/Diagnosis (individual)