That concern about human genetics is at the top of many lists of issues
requiring intense discussion from scientific, political, social, and
ethical points of view is today no surprise. It was in the spirit of
attempting to establish the basis for intelligent discussion of the
issues involved that a group of us gathered at a meeting of the
International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of
Biology in the Summer of 1995 at Brandeis University and began an
exploration of these questions in earlier versions of the papers
presented here. Our aim was to cross disciplines and jump national
boundaries, to be catholic in the methods and approaches taken, and to
bring before readers interested in the emerging issues of human genetics
well-reasoned, informative, and provocative papers. The initial
conference and elements of the editorial work which have followed were
generously supported by the Stifterverband fUr die Deutsche
Wissenschaft. We thank Professor Peter Weingart of Bielefeld University
for his assistance in gaining this support. As Editors, we thank the
anonymous readers who commented upon and critiqued many of the papers
and in tum made each paper a more valuable contribution. We also thank
the authors for their understanding and patience. Michael Fortnn Everett
Mendelsohn Cambridge, MA September 1998 vii INTRODUCTION In 1986, the
annual symposium at the venerable Cold Spring Harbor laboratories was
devoted to the "Molecular Biology of Homo sapiens.