Abstract

In this theoretical research article, we develop a new approach towards the implications of the nature/nurture debate for our understanding of responsibility and solidarity. More specifically, we will consider how new (epi-)genetic information may prompt us to rethink these notions. Our starting point is Evelyn Fox Keller’s important book The Mirage of a Space between nature and nurture. While scientists are wondering whether the nature/nurture distinction is still tenable, Keller’s main question is already a step ahead of such considerations: in view of the fact that the nature/nurture distinction is no longer tenable, why do we keep thinking in those terms? To us, this is an important sociological question. We do not agree, however, with Keller’s answer to that question, and this requires us to discuss the moral and political stakes of the nature/nurture distinction. With examples from insurance, healthcare and migration policy, we show how certain societal institutions implicitly draw upon the nature/nurture distinction to determine who is to be included into organized systems of solidarity. Next, we argue that moving beyond the nature/nurture division requires us to rethink our notions of responsibility and solidarity in society, including the sciences. We give examples from the field of epigenetics. Aligning with thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Isabelle Stengers and Donna Haraway, we characterize the step beyond nature and nurture as a speculative and cosmopolitical challenge. In so doing, this article develops a political-ontological or cosmopolitical perspective on questions concerning responsibility and solidarity in the postgenomic age.

How to Cite:

Hendrickx, K. & Meyers, G. & Wauters, A. & Van Hoyweghen, I., (2017) “Biopolitesse: naar een kosmopolitiek van verantwoordelijkheid en solidariteit”, Sociologos 38(4), 322–341. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86955