Release Date: 01 March, 2000
Paperback
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Rating 5.0
Beyond Genic ReductionismAccounts of the new world of the genome are confusing, has noone noticed? The reason is that we no longer live in the Age of Darwinism, although the authors don't let on. Not here. After a head-on assault at genetic engineering, the author presents a clear, if brief, and perhaps transitional and incomplete, debunking of Neo-Darwinism, on the basis of the same material present though disguised in typical texts. The fallacies of genetic determinism, the misleading reductionism of the 'selfish gene' mythology, the fluid genome, Lamarckian evironmentally induced change in DNA, and much else, simply leaves the standard view in the dust. All this in between an aggressive, and quite controversial, attack on the alliance of biology and big business, accompanied by scorchers about the sources of Darwinism in nineteenth century ideology. A sock in the jaw. No doubt a number of statements here are open to challenge. But the basic thrust of the book puts the rest of the profession to shame. Noone can fool anyone anymore, and a more comprehensive and critical version of this type of book would help. But the current profession is not in the business of making biology clear to the public, in the reign of bad science and big business. |
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