Political Biology as a Phenomenon of the Post-Genomic Era

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to assess the nature and features of a new scientific field of study making, which is conventional may be called political biology and which is considered “revolutionary” due to overcoming the traditional boundaries between “knowledge about nature” and “knowledge about spirit”. It is shown that the synthesis of key concepts from both biological knowledge and political science is carried out in this scientific field. It overcomes the attitudes of rigid determinism in the form of genocentrism, which opens the post-genomic era. Attention is drawn to the importance of epigenetics, which realizes this overcoming, and means the formation of “epipolitics”. The author emphasizes the complexity of political decision-making, which can be based on the achievements of behavioural epigenetics and the ambiguity of its conclusions in the context of public mood and traditions. The article stresses the need for an in-depth analysis of transgenerational effects caused by psychological trauma, which can have far-reaching consequences for the health of future generations (offspring of parents hurt). Finally, some negative consequences of misinterpreting the results of epigenetic studies and their potentially unjustified implementation due to conditions of un- or weakly regulated market relations are considered.