CART: 0 item(s) $0.00Clone Being: Exploring the Psychological and Social Dimensions
| By Stephen E. Levick |
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Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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"This scholarly book provides an analysis of cloning that is far wider in scope than any other I know of, presenting in great detail the observed or potential effects of entering a family in a variety of different ways, including through cloning. It provides the first framework for detailed analysis of the ethical, psychological, and social consequences of human reproductive cloning. It should inform discussion of any proposal to produce children by nuclear transfer who are genetically identical twins of another person."—Ian Wilmut, head of the Department of Gene Expression and Development, Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Times Higher Education Supplement
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Most people think the risks of reproductive cloning are so high as to make trying to clone a person immoral. Even if the medical risks could be reduced greatly, many believe a clone would still risk great psychological harm, and that the practice of reproductive cloning would also be detrimental to society. Others dismiss these concerns as speculative, and point to the possible good they believe it could do. But we need not wait for the first clone to be born to systematically consider the possible psychological and social ramifications of cloning.
Marshalling psychological and sociological theory and research, and drawing upon extensive clinical experiences as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Levick explores the various dimensions of cloning. Clone Being attempts to anticipate possible consequences for a clone, his or her "parents" and family, and society. Psychotherapy case material enlivens and illustrates the book and the reader is helped to identify "clone-like" aspects of his or her own experience and mental life, and of contemporary life. Through this process, the book comes to important conclusions about human nature, including the crucial roles of intimacy, sex, and sexuality for society. The clinical and scientifically grounded insights of this book should help inform the reader's ethical judgments and attitudes about cloning people.
About the Author
Stephen E. Levick is clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.