In the life sciences, molecular biology has established itself as the leading discipline. The gene-centered perspective has become the dominant paradigm, with the genome serving as the secular equivalent of the soul. Concurrently, a process of individualization can be observed in liberal democracies: individuals have all options available to them. The categories that underpin social life—kinship relations, property rights over natural and artificial organisms, the shifting boundaries between private and public, the rights of the individual in relation to the community and future generations—are being continually challenged by advances in the life sciences. On one hand, for example, the fight against doping in sports reflects the illusion of a natural life; on the other hand, we are compelled.