Epigenetic Responsibility

Hedlund, Maria

doi:10.1007/s12376-011-0072-6

Cited by 105 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Political scientist Maria Hedlund7 explores the concept of epigenetic responsibility, building on four important conditions for ascribing moral responsibility. She claims that in order to be morally responsible for adverse consequences related to epigenetic health, one must be causally responsible for a certain epigenetic programming or modification (the causation criterion) as well as aware of the causal link between this programming and its consequences, making free and informed choice possible (the cognisance criterion).…”

Section: Towards Moral Epigenetic Responsibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ambiguous nature of epigenetic responsibility

Dupras

Ravitsky

2016

J Med Ethics

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Over the past decade, epigenetic studies have been providing further evidence of the molecular interplay between gene expression and its health outcomes on one hand, and the physical and social environments in which individuals are conceived, born and live on the other. As knowledge of epigenetic programming expands, a growing body of literature in social sciences and humanities is exploring the implications of this new field of study for contemporary societies. Epigenetics has been mobilised to support political claims, for instance, with regard to collective obligations to address socio-environmental determinants of health. The idea of a moral 'epigenetic responsibility' has been proposed, meaning that individuals and/or governments should be accountable for the epigenetic programming of children and/or citizens. However, these discussions have largely overlooked important biological nuances and ambiguities inherent in the field of epigenetics. In this paper, we argue that the identification and assignment of moral epigenetic responsibilities should reflect the rich diversity and complexity of epigenetic mechanisms, and not rely solely on a gross comparison between epigenetics and genetics. More specifically, we explore how further investigation of the ambiguous notions of epigenetic normality and epigenetic plasticity should play a role in shaping this emerging debate.

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Section: Towards Moral Epigenetic Responsibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ambiguous nature of epigenetic responsibility

Dupras

Ravitsky

2016

J Med Ethics

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“…What the evidence from epigenetics provides is additional incentive to regard social, environmental, and educational support in an intrinsically holistic way, rather than as an assembly of relatively disassociated but beneficial policies. that it is unfair to saddle individuals with a retrospective responsibility for their own future health nor for that of their possible descendants (Hedlund 2012). A similar dichotomy of responsibility and agency has been characterized within the context of environmental bioethics (Dupras, Ravitsky, and Williams-Jones 2012).…”

Section: Facilitative Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

12 Heredity in the Epigenetic Era: Are We Facing a Politics of Reproductive Obligations?

Crawford

2016

Time and Trace: Multidisciplinary Investigations of Temporality

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Recent research in the emerging field of epigenetics has implications with the potential to re-ignite acrimony in the discourse of reproductive rights, medical ethics, and the role of the state in our homes and in our lives. For scientists, epigenetics has profoundly realigned our understanding of heredity: epigenetics provides a mechanism through which the environmental challenges met in one generation can be inscribed and transmitted to future offspring. Although both genetic parents have the potential to transmit heritable epigenetic changes to their offspring, mothers have a particularly potent effect because nutrition in the uterine environment can exert a supplemental effect upon the epigenetic imprint of her offspring, and potentially, upon subsequent generations. Moreover, parental care post partum may have generational consequences that are more than just social.Unless discussants have a nuanced understanding of basic epigenetics, women could suffer a disproportionate burden of the obligation to promote fetal, neonatal, and trans-generational health. Drawing upon past patterns of discourse, ethics, and legislation in reproductive rights, I will briefly list some of the challenges and temptations that we will be facing at the individual, familial, social, and legislative levels.

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“…Yet, it is precisely the very notion of a 'quality' of an epigenome that will likely become the terrain of both scientific and social controversies as we move from the alreadychallenging task of defining reference epigenomes as standards for the advancement of the field (that is, the core mandate of IHEC) to the even greater challenge of accommodating and indeed interpreting those standards in terms of collective political intervention (Dupras et al, 2012;Hedlund, 2012). "Each of us has far greater responsibility than we ever imagined!"…”

Section: Pathway 2: Epigenetics Between Fact and Concernmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scrutinizing the Epigenetics Revolution

Meloni¹,

Testa²

2018

The Palgrave Handbook of Biology and Society

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Epigenetics is one of the most rapidly expanding fields in the life sciences. Its rise is frequently framed as a revolutionary turn that heralds a new epoch both for gene-based epistemology and for the wider discourse on life that pervades knowledge-intensive societies of the molecular age. The fundamentals of this revolution remain however to be scrutinized, and indeed the very contours of what counts as 'epigenetic' are often blurred. This is reflected also in the mounting discourse on the societal implications of epigenetics, in which vast expectations coexist with significant uncertainty about what aspects of this science are most relevant for politics or policy alike. This is therefore a suitable time to reflect on the directions that social theory could most productively take in the scrutiny of this revolution. Here we take this opportunity in both its scholarly and normative dimension, that is, proposing a roadmap for social theorizing on epigenetics that does not shy away from, and indeed hopefully guides, the framing of its most socially relevant outputs. To this end, we start with an epistemological reappraisal of epigenetic discourse that valorizes the blurring of meanings as a critical asset for the field and privileged analytical entry point. We then propose three paths of investigation. The first looks at the structuring elements of controversies and visions around epigenetics. The second probes the mutual constitution between the epigenetic reordering of living phenomena and the normative settlements that orient individual and collective responsibilities. The third highlights the material import of epigenetics and the molecularization of culture that it mediates. We suggest that these complementary strands provide both an epistemically and socially self-reflective framework to advance the study of epigenetics as a molecular juncture between nature and nurture and thus as the new critical frontier in the social studies of the life sciences.

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Epigenetic Responsibility

Cited by 105 publications

References 60 publications

The ambiguous nature of epigenetic responsibility

The ambiguous nature of epigenetic responsibility

12 Heredity in the Epigenetic Era: Are We Facing a Politics of Reproductive Obligations?

Scrutinizing the Epigenetics Revolution

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