Reordering Nature: Theology, Society and the New Genetics

In Reordering Nature, the contributors argue that an adequate response must also be sociologically informed in at least two ways. First it must draw on contemporary sociological insights about contemporary cultural change, the complex role of expert knowledge in modern complex society and the specific social dynamics of contemporary technological risks. Secondly, it must endeavor to pay sensitive attention to the voice of the lay public in the current controversy over the new genetics.

This volume attempts to realize such an aim as a contribution not just to academic scholarship, but also to the public debate about biotechnology and its regulation. Thus the collection includes contributions from scholars in a range of intellectual domains (indeed, many of the chapters themselves draw on more than one discipline in new and challenging ways). This work invites the reader to enter into this conversation in a creative way and come to appreciate more fully the many-sided nature of the debate.