Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald

Researchers have labeled many human diseases and disorders as genetic in origin, with specific genes responsible for each disease. In the following viewpoint, Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Ward maintain that such conclusions divert attention from social and economic factors that contribute to the disease. Furthermore, they contend, testing to detect the genes that are supposedly responsible for disease will lead to eugenics as people try to replace the “defective” gene with a “normal” gene. Hubbard, a professor of biology emerita at Harvard University and a director of the Council for Responsible Genetics, and Wald, a freelance writer, are the authors of Exploding the Gene Myth.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What is the hypothetical human, according to Richard Lewontin, as cited by the authors?
2. How does the development...