The author discusses a series of questions related to the speedy development of biotechnology and the paradigms on which they are based, such as genetic determinism. In this article, it is argued that the biological sciences feel so comfortable with regard to their latest developments, that they presuppose a large array of interpretative schemes for all fields of life, mainly the behavioural sciences and culture. The ambivalence of the question of genetics in the relationship between the social sciences and biology is discussed.O autor procura levantar uma série de questões relacionadas ao avanço acelerado da biotecnologia e aos paradigmas que fundamentam tal avanço, como o determinismo genético. É demonstrado que as ciências biológicas sen...