Word selection affects perceptions of synthetic biology

Pearson, Brianna; Snell, Sam; Bye-Nagel, Kyri; Tonidandel, Scott; Heyer, Laurie J.; Campbell, A. Malcolm

doi:10.1186/1754-1611-5-9

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…As expressions and ideas from the background of creation evoke certain religio-culturally mediated associations, but do not refer to the theologically reflected content, such expressions and ideas are reinterpreted under the aspect of functionality (Pearson et al 2011a). If theological ethics observe such a reinterpretation like the partial uptake of traditional theological patterns, theological ethics face the challenge of questioning the adequacy of the detected religiocultural metaphors in regard to the particular theological content reflected.…”

Section: On the Significance Of Metaphors In The Discourse On Synthetmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Homo Faber to Homo Creator? A Theological-Ethical Expedition into the Anthropological Depths of Synthetic Biology

Braun¹,

Ried²

2013

Worldviews

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Synthetic Biology is supposed to evoke new challenges for science and society. Yet it is a controversial point, up to which extend ethical as well as societal challenges will reach. This paper examines the question as to how a theological-ethical perspective can speak of an anthropological change in the understanding of human beings-as supposed by some philosophers-due to the successes and visions of synthetic biology. Regarding this, the metaphors appearing in the field of synthetic biology (playing God; living machine) will be briefly looked at as possible Indicators of such an anthropological change. Based on this the particular theological understanding of creation will be questioned in order to finally examine the results in regard to its consequences for the discourse of the human being as homo creator."A doctrine of knowledge of the human being, systematically formulated (anthropology), can exist either in a physiological or in a pragmatic point of view. Physiological knowledge of the human being concerns the investigation of what nature makes of the human being; pragmatic, the investigation of what he as a free-acting being makes of himself, or can and should make of himself" (Kant 1798:3). So far the potential of human activity has seemed to be relatively clearly outlined by the limits and conditions of nature. Even though the pursuit of the expansion of these limits has always been present in human actions and culture, the natural basic structures have so far only been modifiable in a paradigmatic manner. This foundation of the © Koninklijke Brill NV. Leiden

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Section: On the Significance Of Metaphors In The Discourse On Synthetmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Homo Faber to Homo Creator? A Theological-Ethical Expedition into the Anthropological Depths of Synthetic Biology

Braun¹,

Ried²

2013

Worldviews

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“…Briefly, in parts of the world where the concept of God or gods is pervasive, the idea of SB clashes with the creative behaviour of gods, and this upsets the corresponding creeds, with concomitant emotional reactions (Pearson et al 2011).…”

Section: Synthetic Biology Beyond the Hypementioning

confidence: 99%

The Cellular Chassis as the Basis for New Functionalities: Shortcomings and Requirements

Danchin¹

2014

Synthetic Biology

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By default synthetic biology refers to construction of synthetic genetic programs. Yet, programs must be expressed within a machine, and the elusive but multipurpose "chassis" is usually taken for granted. The program replicates while the chassis reproduces, showing that maturation, ageing and senescence are core processes which must be taken into account in order to explore realistic outcomes. Functional analysis reveals the essential functions that we need to consider. Some are listed in the present chapter, with emphasis on the role of information recruitment. This is a built-in process of living organisms whose outcome is the production of an ever young progeny as a way to cope with ageing and senescence. Life innovates using Maxwell's demons-like nanomachines. This is at odds with standard engineering practices, opening up new perspectives for synthetic biology.

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“…Another possible solution discussed within the scientific debate may be to reject the assumed need and related attempts to establish a definition of life, be it due to the notion that life is an irreducible fact about the "natural world" or the notion that it is an irreducible fuzzy, vague, and too broad concept. [85,86] Such metaphors are not only figures of speech but also forms which express the exterior of those metaphorical concepts, guiding the interpretation and organization of reality. [59,71,72] This is especially the case because both natural scientists and philosophers are facing the question of whether or not it is possible to generate novel forms of life from scratch.…”

Section: Synthetic Biology: At Least Safe and Sound?mentioning

confidence: 99%

(Re‐)Designing Nature? An Overview and Outlook on the Ethical and Societal Challenges in Synthetic Biology

Braun

Fernau

2019

Adv. Biosys.

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to provide an initial systematization of the ethical and socio-scientific debate on SB by structuring and categorizing issues that have been widely discussed and debated in recent years. The investigation included international ethical and societal research on SB, covering the period from January 2010 to December 2017. Even though we are aware that there have been several developments before it was referred to as SB, [6] this sample period was selected as the experiments of Craig Venter and his team in the year 2010 marked the birth of broader public and scientific attention to SB, as well as the rise and further establishment of SB as a distinct research discipline.We predefined five main fields of ethical research in order to map the scope of the respective debates. These fields were based on theoretical presuppositions informed by our preliminary theoretical and empirical research and the resulting experiences within the field of ethical and societal challenges of SB. The five fields are: 1) the definition and scope of possible applications; 2) questions of biosafety and -security; 3) the impact of SB on taken-for-granted cultural perceptions and values; 4) SB as a new mode of public participation in science; 5) issues of sustainable governance and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). With these five fields in mind, we searched for relevant articles on Scopus and PubMed. These are two of the largest international research databases, which cover a broad spectrum of ethical and socio-scientific work within the context of biotechnologies. The selected search term was "synthetic biology" in combination with several distinctive codes, which can be assigned to the aforementioned predefined main fields of ethical research ( Table 1).In general, our literature analysis has several methodological limitations. As it is not a comprehensive systematic literature review, it does not provide a broad set of quantitative data scrutinizing all debates, issues and questions on the ethical and societal challenges in SB. Nevertheless, our analysis provides a structured overview on and an initial systematization of the most relevant topics within the discussion on SB in recent years. Additionally, this article aims to provide an analysis and discussion of the current state of play of ethical and societal issues in SB.The first section is concerned with the question of a possible definition of SB and the issue of how we could describe and analyze its technological progress with regard to ethical and societal challenges. As one frequent debate of the last few This structured literature analysis aims to map the current, emerging, and predicted future of synthetic biology (SB) by putting the focus on the implied conceptual, societal, and ethical challenges. The central objective of the analysis is to provide an initial systematization of the ethical and socio-scientific debate on SB by structuring and categorizing widely discussed issues within the debate in recent years. Starting with the quest for possible definitions, issues ...

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Word selection affects perceptions of synthetic biology

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 publications

From Homo Faber to Homo Creator? A Theological-Ethical Expedition into the Anthropological Depths of Synthetic Biology

From Homo Faber to Homo Creator? A Theological-Ethical Expedition into the Anthropological Depths of Synthetic Biology

The Cellular Chassis as the Basis for New Functionalities: Shortcomings and Requirements

(Re‐)Designing Nature? An Overview and Outlook on the Ethical and Societal Challenges in Synthetic Biology

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