Published: 2018-09-031

Epigenetics : Towards News Health Policies?

Caroline Guibet Lafaye
Humanities and Natural Sciences
Section: Articles
https://doi.org/10.31648/hip.499

Abstract

Epigenetics research has nowadays an important development. Concerned by prevention issues, some of its investigators would like to promote health policies based on their latest discoveries in epigenetics. In this paper, we will question the relevance of a direct application of epigenetics results in public health policies. Then we will analyse the opportunity to use the argument of precaution in this perspective. Finally we will examine the shift to protection of population to their control. This shift, inherent to certain social processes, is also perceptible in this proactive tendency in epigenetics. Against it, we demonstrate that epigenetics results raise mainly issues of political responsibility rather than issues of individual responsibility but the first one involved less programs targeting particular social groups of the society that a specific attention to the unequal distribution of social burdens on the whole society.

Keywords:

Epigenetics, health policies, health policiessocial responsibility, social control

Citation rules

Lafaye, C. G. (2018). Epigenetics : Towards News Health Policies?. Humanities and Natural Sciences, (20), 307–333. https://doi.org/10.31648/hip.499

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