Full Description
Advances in animal biotechnology have led to major increases in the human ability to control the process of life. Yet, biotechnology is controversial. While it has led to various new developments in medical science that have had a positive influence on people's lives, it has also incited disagreement on various levels. Along with developments in biotechnology have come questions about the moral impact of new technologies. Biotechnology has brought to the forefront questions about how we, as human beings, should behave towards nature, towards animals, and towards each other. Both in academic studies and in legislative practice, there has been a growing interest in alternative legislative approaches for addressing morally controversial issues. In particular, communicative, symbolic, or interactive techniques seem to hold promise as alternative ways of developing legislation on issues characterized by strong moral disagreements, such as life-altering technologies. This book examines three lines of research on the interactive legislative approach in order to reach an ideal-typical model that combines a descriptive perspective with normative claims about how best to engage with complex regulatory issues that have a moral impact.
Contents
Part I; 1. Introduction; 2. A Comprehensive Framework on the Quality of Law; 3. The Interactive Legislative Approach; Part II; 4. Introduction to the Case Studies; 5. The Regulation of Animal Biotechnology in Denmark; 6. The Regulation of Animal Biotechnology in Switzerland; 7 The Regulation of Animal Biotechnology in the Netherlands; 8. Reflections on the Case Studies; Part III; 9. Consensus Reconsidered; 10. An Ethos of Controversies in a Two-Track Approach; Bibliography; Parliamentary Documents; Index; Appendix I List of Interviewees.
