14.02.2024 Online.
EGE Seminar
Genomics & Beyond: A Decade in Review – Reflections on the idea of social and behavioural genetics
Time: 14th February, 16:00-17:30 h CET
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Organization: Ethics of Genome Editing Research Unit (EGE), University of Tübingen
Basic research is ongoing into the genomics of complex human behaviours and social outcomes, from eating and sexual behaviours to “subjective sense of well-being” and “educational attainment.” Although the people doing this research may work hard to articulate their benevolent intentions as well as seeking to conduct rigorous, reproducible, ethical research, they do so against the history of pseudoscience, eugenics, and scientific racism. In this seminar, our expert panel will share insights regarding the potential risks and benefits of such research: Will investigations of associations between genetic differences and observed differences in behaviours and social outcomes exacerbate—or help to undermine—genetic determinism? How can behavioral and social genomics research community and the neurodiversity and disability justice movements learn from each other? Can the polygenic scores created by behavioral and social geneticists be of any real use to improve clinical or social science research? To what extent, if any, is behavioral and social genetics research relevant to discussions of using CRISPR to enhance moral and cognitive behaviour?
Speakers:
If you are interested in joining, please send an email to oliver.feeney@uni-tuebingen.de