Reinhard Heil & Stefanie B. Seitz 
Epigenetics 
Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects

Modern epigenetics unites scientists from life sciences, organic chemistry as well as computer and engineering sciences to find an answer to the question of how environmental influences can have a lasting effect on gene expression, maybe even into the next generations. This volume examines from an interdisciplinary perspective the ethical, legal and social aspects of epigenetics.

Table of Content

Introduction.- Introduction to Epigenetics.- Too Early or Too Late? The Assessment of Emerging Technology.- Epigenetics and Genetic Determinism (in Popular Science).- Identity and Non-Identity. Intergenerational Justice as a Topic of an Ethics of Epigenetics.- Genetics, Epigenetics and Forms of Action. About the Ethical Ambivalence of Epigenetic Knowledge.- Epigenetics: Biological, Medical, Social, and Ethical Challenges.- Learning from and Shaping the Public Discourse about Epigenetics.- State of the Public Discourse on Epigenetics.- Epigenetics – New Aspects of Chemicals Policy.- Epigenetics and Legal Regulations: A challenge for the State’s Obligation to Protect Environment, Individual’s Health and Civil Rights.- Epigenetics and the Protection of Personality Rights.- Adam’s Apple and His Legacy: Ethical Perspectives on Epigenetics with an Excursion to the Field of Body Weight Regulation.- Epigenetics and Original Sin. Theological-Ethical Reflections on Heredity and Responsibility.

About the author

Reinhard Heil and 
Harald König are researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.





Stefanie B. Seitz was a researcher at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology until January 2016 and is currently working for the DBFZ – Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum g Gmb H, Leipzig.





Jürgen Robienski is a German lawyer in Hannover and Müden/Aller (Lower Saxony). He is a research fellow at the Center of Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences (CELLS) of Leibniz University in Hannover.