Ken Schaffner
George Washington University  
Fall 2003
Behaving: What's Genetic and What's Not

Kenneth F. Schaffner, M.D. (Pitt, 1986), Ph.D. (Philosophy; Columbia, 1967) is University Professor of Medical Humanities and Professor of Philosophy at the George Washington University. Before moving to GWU, he was University Professor of History and Philosophy of Science and Research Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also served as Co-Director for the Center for Medical Ethics. His most recent book is Discovery and Explanation in Biology and Medicine. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and has published extensively on ethical and conceptual issues in science and medicine. His recent work has been on philosophical issues in behavioral and psychiatric genetics. His book, Behaving: What’s Genetic and What’s Not, and Why Should We Care? will soon be published. He recently began a NSF-supported project to write a history of behavioral and psychiatric genetics covering the period 1960 to the present day. Avocations include an eclectic taste in music, long walks along the Potomac in Washington, and martini tastings in Pittsburgh.