Storm over Biology : Essays on Science, Sentiment, and Public Policy

This book had its genesis in Dr. Davis' remarkable editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine that sharply criticized medical schools for lowering their standards of admission to fill minority quotas and ultimately risking the lives of patients. Davis' position (widely held, but seldom articulated) is that the standard of medical care is an even higher ideal than the redress of past racial injustice.A passionate battle is now being fought in our universities over the freedom to pursue ideals of objectivity and intellectual freedom that are incompatible with the mandates of a pragmatic social policy.Storm Over Biology examines many of the areas where scientific and social interests intersect and often conflict, such as genetic engineering and sociobiology. The essays are grouped under six headings: Genetics, Racism and Affirmative Action; Objectivity and Science; Evolution - Sociobiology, Ethics, and Molecular Genetics; Medical Education and Affirmative Action; Public Concern Over Science; and Genetic Engineering.Though trained and best known as a microbiologist, Bernard D. Davis addresses these issues philosophically. He emphasizes both the limitations of science and its enormous power to shape and inextricably alter our lives.