ABSTRACT
Repeatedly it has been remarked that the results of genomic research are threatening traditional concepts of personal responsibility and individual autonomy. Contemporary biology with its search for genetic (and neurobiological) determinants for a multitude of traits and modes of behavior seems to subvert the substantial basis for responsible action: the possibility of individual decision making and choice.1 I do not think that this fear of genetic determinism is justifi ed. What we observe today is not the reduction of individual responsibility by reference to genetic dispositions and inborn traits. The discovery of genetic factors that infl uence and regulate the expression of diseases and personal traits does not result in a position that negates or forecloses the responsibility of the subject; quite the contrary, the increasing genetic knowledge is the central point of reference to expand moral duties. It engenders new modes and fi elds for responsible action.
