Policy, Groups and Populations in a Genomic Era: Perspectives from Philosophy and the Social Sciences

Commentary by philosophers and social scientists on the issues thrown up by human genomics has often centred on the individual and have only then been extended to larger social and biological formations such as the family. Recent scientific activity suggests that many applications of human genomics will involve large-scale population stratification, even if the sense that genomic information is individual information remains potent. This multi-disciplinary conference will consider the issues, including policy issues, that arise in encounters between public health and medical interventions and the information, technology and interventions characteristic of genomics.