Advances in genetics and related biotechnologies are having a profound effect on sport, raising important ethical questions about the limits and possibilities of the human body. Drawing on real case studies and grounded in rigorous scientific evidence, this book offers an ethical critique of current practices and explores the intersection of genetics, ethics and sport. Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the ethics of biotechnology in sport, the book addresses the philosophical implications of the latest scientific developments and technological data. Distinguishing fact from popular myth and science fiction, it covers key topics such as the genetic basis of sport performance and the role of genetic testing in talent identification and development. Its ten chapters discuss current debates surrounding issues such as the shifting relationship between genetics, sports medicine and sports science, gene enhancement, gene transfer technology, doping and disability sport. The first book to be published on this important subject in more than a decade, this is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the ethics of sport, bioethics or sport performance.

This is the first book to examine the profound ethical issues raised by the use of genetic technologies in sports, asking whether sporting authorities can, or even should, protect sport from genetic modification.

The issues surrounding ethical controversies in sport are often touched on in the popular media. This book by leading international scholars in philosophy and the philosophy of sport provides systematic treatment of the ethics of sport from a range of perspectives. Part one includes essays which focus on the basis of sport as an activity that is inherently ethical. Part two concerns the nature of the oft-heard but seldom-clarified notion of fair play. Three essays are included which articulate substantively different interpretations of the concept all of which have different allegiances in ethical theory and practical consequences. Part three deals with ethical questions in physical education and coaching, and Part four, on contemporary issues, includes essays which focus on topics such as violence, conflict and deception. This book is accessible to a wide range of teachers and students in the field of sport and leisure studies. Contributions from international, highly regarded experts in the field to provide the reader with the systematic treatment of the ethics in sport from a diverse perspective.

Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.

Sports are more than just "games." They can unite countries, start wars, and revolutionize views on race, class, and gender. Through works from philosophy, sociology, medicine, and law, this collection explores intersections of sports and ethics, and identifies the immense role of sports in shaping and reflecting social values.

Good Sport argues that the values and meanings embedded within sport provide the guidance we need to make difficult decisions about fairness and performance-enhancing technologies. By examining how sport's history, rules and practices identify and celebrate natural talent and dedication, the book illuminates not just what we champion in the athletic arena but more broadly what we value in human achievement.

Investigations into the interplay of biological and legal conceptions of life, from government policies on cloning to DNA profiling by law enforcement. Legal texts have been with us since the dawn of human history. Beginning in 1953, life too became textual. The discovery of the structure of DNA made it possible to represent the basic matter of life with permutations and combinations of four letters of the alphabet, A, T, C, and G. Since then, the biological and legal conceptions of life have been in constant, mutually constitutive interplay—the former focusing on life's definition, the latter on life's entitlements. Reframing Rights argues that this period of transformative change in law and the life sciences should be considered “bioconstitutional.” Reframing Rights explores the evolving relationship of biology, biotechnology, and law through a series of national and cross-national case studies. Sheila Jasanoff maps out the conceptual territory in a substantive editorial introduction, after which the contributors offer “snapshots” of developments at the frontiers of biotechnology and the law. Chapters examine such topics as national cloning and xenotransplant policies; the politics of stem cell research in Britain, Germany, and Italy; DNA profiling and DNA databases in criminal law; clinical trials in India and the United States; the GM crop controversy in Britain; and precautionary policymaking in the European Union. These cases demonstrate changes of constitutional significance in the relations among human bodies, selves, science, and the state.

The result of two key social developments in recent years are examined here: the partial dismantling of the welfare state and the progress of genetics. Genetic insights are increasingly valuable for risk assessment, and insurers would like to use these insights to help determine premiums. Combined with the fact that social welfare is being curtailed, this could potentially create an uninsured high-risk population. Along with considerations of autonomy and privacy, this is the basis for an ethical critique of insurer's access to information. The result has often been regulation of such information; but the authors argues that due to adverse selection, regulation will not solve these problems, and this may jeopardize the survival of private personal insurance. Instead, we should look towards the resurrection of social insurance, a key component of the welfare state. This will interest academic researchers as well as professionals involved with genetics and insurance.

Wrestling with Behavioral Genetics brings together an interdisciplinary group of contributors -- geneticists, humanists, social scientists, lawyers, and journalists -- to discuss the ethical and social implications of behavioral genetics research. The essays give readers the necessary tools to critically analyze the findings of behavioral geneticists, explore competing interpretations of the ethical and social implications of those findings, and engage in a productive public conversation about them. "What sets this collection apart from others is the way that contributions from a diverse authorship are integrated to form a coherent whole... Doubtless this book will soon become a classic within behavioral genetics and compulsory reading for the non-specialist seeking to understand the basic scientific, social, and ethical issues within the field." -- American Journal of Bioethics "Informative, provocative, and challenging, this book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand this emerging field." -- Social Theory and Practice "Promoting public conversation about behavioral genetics will be increasingly pertinent to creating enlightened, fair, and representative public policy... The 'wrestling' will go on for some time to come." -- New England Journal of Medicine "This volume presents a fair and honest treatment of the field that is both cautious at times and also optimistic and hopeful." -- Metapsychology Erik Parens is a senior research scholar at the Hastings Center and a visiting professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Sarah Lawrence College. Audrey R. Chapman is a professor of community medicine and Healey Chair in Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Nancy Press is a professor at the School of Nursing and the Department of Public Health at the School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University.

"For several decades, the field of bioethics has played a dominant role in shaping the way society thinks about ethical problems related to developments in science, technology, and medicine. But its traditional emphases on, for example, doctor-patient relationships, informed consent, and individual autonomy have led the field to not be fully responsive to the challenges posed by new human biotechnologies such as assisted reproduction, human genetic enhancement, and DNA forensics. Beyond Bioethics provides a focused overview for students and others grappling with the profound social dilemmas posed by these developments. It brings together the work of cutting-edge thinkers from diverse fields of study and public engagement, all of them committed to a new perspective that is grounded in social justice and public interest values. The contributors to this volume seek to define an emerging field of scholarly, policy, and public concern: a new biopolitics."--Provided by publisher.