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Título del libro: History Of Human Genetics: Aspects Of Its Development And Global Perspectives
Título del capítulo: The genomization of biology: Counterbalancing radical reductionism

Autores UNAM:
RICARDO NOGUERA SOLANO; ROSAURA RUIZ GUTIERREZ;
Autores externos:

Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2017
Palabras clave:

Geneticization; Genome; Genomization; Organicism; Reductionism


Resumen:

The term 'genome' was coined in 1920 by the German botanist Hans Winkler to describe the genetic material contained in the cell nucleus. Winkler's idea was a holistic one that emphasized the relationship between the material in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. With the passage of time, this original idea has been modified in parallel with scientific and technological progress that has led to holism being sidelined in favour of an increasingly radical reductionism. These advances have brought about significant changes in the understanding of the phenomena of heredity, from the heuristic power of the concept of the genome, resulting eventually in 'genomization', that is to say, seeking understanding of the phenomena of inheritance exclusively through the 'understanding' of genomic material in physical terms, taking a step beyond 'geneticization'. In this paper, we present the way in which genomization has followed a path that parallels the progress in genome studies, with the consolidation of the genomization of biology deriving from achievements such as the Human Genome Project and the consequent reassertion of reductionism as the dominant view. We will base our reconstruction on the original material of the authors who contributed to the knowledge of the genome, during the twentieth century in particular, combined with reflections on the impact of genomization on different fields of knowledge down the years. In this way, we hope to put forward a proposal that not only emphasizes the need to reconsider the way in which the historiography of biology has been carried out but also the impact that radical reductionism has had on the understanding and dissemination of contemporary biology. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017. All rights reserved.


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