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Full Product Details

Author:   John Bryant (Author)
Publisher:   SPCK Publishing
Imprint:   Lion Books
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 13.00cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.277kg
ISBN:  

9780745953960

ISBN 10:   0745953964
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   22 March 2013
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

CONTENTS Foreword 9 1 Starting from the Beginning 13 1.1 Beyond what? 13 1.2 Being human: the origins and early evolution of humankind 16 1.3 Corn and community, cities and civilization 19 2 The Way We Were 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Shifting power bases in the ancient world 26 2.3 Religion in the ancient world 27 2.4 Into Europe 28 2.5 Post-Roman Britain 29 2.6 Moving away from Rome 31 2.7 Science, culture and religion 31 2.8 The Industrial Revolution and the age of invention 34 2.9 Science, culture and religion revisited 36 2.10 Into the twentieth century 37 2.11 Some thoughts on the story so far 41 3 The Way We Are 45 3.1 Introduction 45 3.2 Communism and capitalism 46 3.3 Israel and Palestine 51 3.4 The European Union 53 3.5 The 1960s 54 3.6 Northern Ireland 59 3.7 Terrorism and war 61 3.8 Power bases shift again 64 3.9 Science, religion and culture 65 3.10 Human society: fraying round the edges or cracking down the middle? 70 3.11 After World War II: a final comment 74 4 Morals, Ethics and Complex Issues 77 4.1 Introduction 77 4.2 Ethical systems 78 4.3 A brief excursion into postmodernism 85 4.4 Application of ethics in medicine 87 4.5 Extending the ethical vision 89 5 Genes, Genetics and Human Disease 93 5.1 Introduction 93 5.2 Early understanding 94 5.3 Genes and medicine: the early years 95 5.4 The new genetic revolution 99 5.5 Science, sequences and sickness 102 6 Genetic Testing and Diagnosis: The Good, the Bad and the Muddly 113 6.1 Genetic testing and diagnosis 113 6.2 Prenatal and pre-implantation testing: wider ethical issues 123 6.3 A gene for this and a gene for that 133 6.4 Concluding remarks 138 7 Medical Technology: From Gamete to Grave 141 7.1 Introduction 141 7.2 The art of reproduction: from donor insemination to test-tube babies 142 7.3 Gene therapy 149 7.4 Repair, replacement and renewal 152 7.5 Three score years and then 167 7.6 … and then: when am I dead and when may I die? 171 7.7 Whatever next? 177 8 Chips with Everything: Computers, Information and Communications Technologies 181 8.1 Introduction 181 8.2 Alan Turing and the dawn of the computer age 182 8.3 The age of computers: the digital age 185 8.4 How things have changed 186 8.5 Networking 188 8.6 The digital divide 189 8.7 The darker side of digital technology 191 8.8 Concluding remarks 201 9 Transhumanism: Stronger, Faster, Better, Older? 205 9.1 Introduction 205 9.2 Transhumanism: biomedical 207 9.3 Transhumanism: pharmacological 221 9.4 Transhumanism: digital 223 9.5 Transhumanism: biomechanical 229 9.6 The “super-soldier” programme 230 9.7 Concluding comments 230 10 Beyond Human? 235 10.1 Introduction 235 10.2 The angel and the beast 236 10.3 Fair shares for all? 237 10.4 Fiddling while home burns 239 10.5 Better humans? 242 10.6 Postscript 244 Index 246

Reviews

"""Science promises to change, perfect, and even immortalize us. But how far can it go without damaging our fundamental humanity? John Bryant supplies a masterly, readable, and deeply informed critique of the current arguments based upon extensive original research. `Beyond Human’ must be reckoned essential reading for everyone concerned about the deepening chasm between scientific and technological possibilities and ethical, humane, and just conduct."" -- Alan Chapman “a heart-felt discussion of thorny ethical conundrums” -- Shara Zaval * Publishers Weekly * “I commend this book to anyone who is concerned to understand the revolution in bio medicine and is prepared to think through the ethical and moral implications...” * Evangelicals Now * The pros and cons of the developments described are well set out and many illustrative stories add a human touch and prevent dry debate. Those who like clear cut answers won’t find them here, but those who are looking for an update on what is going on in the laboratory world with the ethical complexities highlighted, Beyond Human? should prove stimulating and thought provoking. -- Caroline Berry * Third Way *"

Science promises to change, perfect, and even immortalize us. But how far can it go without damaging our fundamental humanity? John Bryant supplies a masterly, readable, and deeply informed critique of the current arguments based upon extensive original research. 'Beyond Human' must be reckoned essential reading for everyone concerned about the deepening chasm between scientific and technological possibilities and ethical, humane, and just conduct. -- Alan Chapman

Science promises to change, perfect, and even immortalize us. But how far can it go without damaging our fundamental humanity? John Bryant supplies a masterly, readable, and deeply informed critique of the current arguments based upon extensive original research. `Beyond Human' must be reckoned essential reading for everyone concerned about the deepening chasm between scientific and technological possibilities and ethical, humane, and just conduct. -- Alan Chapman a heart-felt discussion of thorny ethical conundrums -- Shara Zaval * Publishers Weekly * I commend this book to anyone who is concerned to understand the revolution in bio medicine and is prepared to think through the ethical and moral implications... * Evangelicals Now * The pros and cons of the developments described are well set out and many illustrative stories add a human touch and prevent dry debate. Those who like clear cut answers won't find them here, but those who are looking for an update on what is going on in the laboratory world with the ethical complexities highlighted, Beyond Human? should prove stimulating and thought provoking. -- Caroline Berry * Third Way *

Author Information

Professor John Bryant is Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter. He has written several books and articles.

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