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- Title
Thinking 'a Life': Nomadism as a Challenge for (Post-)Genomics.
- Authors
Idema, Tom
- Abstract
This chapter ventures into an epistemological and political tension around the question of life in (post-)genomics, focusing on the case of leading genomicist Craig Venter. On the one hand Venter's research signals a movement away from on-to-one correspondences between genotype and phenotype, i.e. a movement towards complexity. On the other hand, it tends to cling to a notion of the genome as a 'command-center' of life. This tension can be analyzed on the basis of Deleuze and Guattari's concepts of 'nomad science' and 'State science'. State science is organized in hierarchical institutions and is predominantly oriented towards order, while nomad science navigates between dominant institutions, practices, and ideas looking for phenomena of fluidity. In the light of the gaining importance of corporate science, and in congruence with Deleuze's notion of 'societies of control' in which flexibility and fluidity are key terms, this chapter introduces an additional concept: 'control science'. It is argued that whereas Venter's case exhibits aspects of nomad science, it is better understood as control science. In order to develop a nomadic approach to the question of life, (post)genomics would benefit from conceptual encounters with Deleuze's biophilosophy and the work of biologists such as Lynn Margulis.
- Subjects
NOMADS in art; GENOMICS
- Publication
Faux Titre, 2015, Vol 400, p239
- ISSN
0167-9392
- Publication type
Article