An Abstract Analysis of Ethical Dilemmas

Abstract

In The Ethics of Genetic Engineering, Roberta Berry explores the deep divide over the ethical and policy issues related to genetically engineering human beings. Berry distinguishes between two very different ways of thinking about the issues – reductionist/pluralist approaches and communitarian/holist approaches – and argues that neither of these approaches has the conceptual tools necessary to bridge this gap. Berry proposes that the only way to make some headway on the issues related to genetic engineering is to draw insights from both of these ways of thinking about moral and social problems. Her analysis is thoughtful and incisive and her main conclusions are plausible. The book is interesting, insightful, and well-written. In Chapter 1, Berry gives an introduction to the ethical and policy issues related to genetic engineering. She describes the social and political history of the topic and important scientific and technological developments. Berry argues that the issues related to genetic engineering are fractitious problems’, which means that they are generated by novel advances in science and technology, challenge our understanding, tap into our deep secular or religious beliefs, are of public concern, and are unavoidably divisive (pp. 1–2). In this chapter, Berry also distinguishes between reductionist pluralists and holist communitarians. Reductionist pluralists, such as utilitarians and deontologists, view ethical and policy issues as ‘‘amendable to