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Cited by 747Medical and Health Sciences ResearchFoucault, Power, and EthicsBioethics and Human Rights Issues

Genetic risk and the birth of the somatic individual

Novas, Carlos, Rose, Nikolas·2000·Economy and Society
DOI 10.1080/03085140050174750
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Abstract

This paper considers the implications of the rise of the new molecular genetics for the ways in which we are governed and the ways in which we govern ourselves. Using examples of genetic screening and genetic discrimination in education, employment and insurance, and a case study of debates among those at risk of developing Huntington's Disease and their relatives, we suggest that some of the claims made by critics of these new developments are misplaced. While there are possibilities of genetic discrimination, the key event is the creation of the person 'genetically at risk'. But genetic risk does not imply resignation in the face of an implacable biological destiny: it induces new and active relations to oneself and one's future. In particular, it generates new forms of 'genetic responsibility', locating actually and potentially affected individuals within new communities of obligation and identification. Far from generating fatalism, the rewriting of personhood at a genetic level and its visualization through a 'molecular optic' transforms the relations between patient and expert in unexpected ways, and is linked to the development of novel 'life strategies', involving practices of choice, enterprise, self-actualization and prudence in relation to one's genetic make-up. Most generally, we suggest, the birth of the person 'genetically at risk' is part of a wider reshaping of personhood along somatic lines and a mutation in conceptions of life itself.

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Crossref · 10.1080/03085140050174750

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51 of 51 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Digital health citizenship inscribes ways of being an 'active' and 'responsible' individual with regards to individual health choices, to the health of others, the community, and the health service.

    “This citizenship inscribes ways of being an 'active' and 'responsible' individual with regards to individual health choices, to the health of others, the community, and the health service (Novas and Rose, 2000).”

    From The Cultivation of Digital Health Citizenship (2021) · cites this paper as Novas and Rose, 2000

  • Patients are increasingly self-identifying as biological citizens, assuming rights and responsibilities on the basis of their physical constitution and projected health risks.

    “Patients are increasingly self-identifying as biological citizens, assuming rights and responsibilities on the basis of their physical constitution and projected health risks (Heath et al., 2008;Novas and Rose, 2000;Petersen et al., 2018;Rose and Novas, 2004).”

    From The Cultivation of Digital Health Citizenship (2021) · cites this paper as Novas and Rose, 2000

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Authors
Novas, C., & Rose, N.
Affiliations
University of London (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Economy and Society
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2000-01
Volume
29
Issue
4
Pages
485-513
ISSN
  • 0308-5147 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-5766
DOI
10.1080/03085140050174750
OpenAlex
W2152132383
Cited by
747
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 36
FWCI
11.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Economy and Society (publishedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Medical and Health Sciences Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Foucault, Power, and Ethics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Bioethics and Human Rights Issues
Keywords
genetic risk, genetic screening, genetic discrimination, personhood, genetic responsibility, Huntington's disease, molecular genetics, self-government, life history strategies, conceptions of life

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