La arrogancia de la biología

The discovery of DNA and the subsequent sequencing of the human genome have today brought biotechnology to a prominent place. The modern world (scientists, media, politicians...) seems to have granted it (thanks to its ability not only to "read", but even to alter and rewrite organisms, thus correcting the "errors" of the nature) the role of interpreter of life, as if the power of science to manipulate it also authorized it to define its object. In this lucid and insightful book, Sheila Jasanoff uneasily exposes how science has increasingly invaded control over the matter of life, widening the gap between physical life and active or properly human life. However, he points out, it is much richer and more complex, and a long cultural tradition is an essential component of it, as well as dealing with the other, the social and intellectual character of man, and his relationship with the rest of nature.