Programska knjižnica 9. Lošinjskih dana bioetike - Hrvatsko ...

on the situation on Haiti. Namely, the earthquake had disastrous proportions,
it took hundreds of thousands of lives, whose number is not yet finally
known, the environment has been devastated, there are many victims
left, refugees, as well as large number of children without parents. Due to
the chaotic situation many people were left homeless, hungry, helpless,
waiting for international help. Although the situation on Haiti before the
earthquake was quite unenviable, considering the unstable political situation
in country, poverty, epidemic diseases like AIDS, the situation on Haiti
has not quite been represented in Croatian daily newspaper. Only after the
terrible earthquake and loss of many lives media have begun reporting
(more) on this country. Therefore, this paper analyzes the way of reporting
on the earthquake in Haiti in Jutarnji list and Večernji list, between 14th
and 31st of January 2010.
VERONIKA SZÁNTÓ
Hungarian Bioethics Association, Budapest, Hungary /
Mađarska bioetička asocijacija, Budimpešta, Mađarska
GENETIC ESSENTIALISM:
STUMBLING BLOCK OF THE GMO CONTROVERSY
The international debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
has reached a stalemate and chances for a rational discussion seem bleak.
I argue that both pro- and con-GMO advocates endorse tacitly a shared
presupposition that effectively hinders consensus. Both sides accept, for
the most part unconsciously, a view of genes which can appropriately be
called genetic essentialism. According to this view the genes of an organism
comprise its very essence, implying causal and explanatory primacy of
the genes. Genetic essentialism often involves the representation of genes
as a blueprint containing both all information needed to “build” an organism
and the effective agency required for its implementation. Pro-GMO
advocates thus refer to the purportedly incomparable effectiveness of transgenesis
as the justification of their view, whereas their opponents warn that
genetic engineering interrupts the very essence of living organisms. I argue
that this unfruitful debate can be overcome by the careful application of
recent achievements in the criticism of genetic essentialism performed by
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