Synthetic Biology - Cultural and Anthropological Perspectives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/po/13.3/486Keywords:
synthetic biology, cultural perspective, anthropological perspectiveAbstract
This article aims to make an analysis of the cultural and anthropological issues raised by synthetic biology. The novelty of the field makes it relatively difficult to compose a comprehensive analysis, even for philosophers with experience, but who are not familiar with the specifics of the field. The article will follow the synthesis of the models of ethical decision applicable in the field of ethical evaluation of technologies from a cultural and anthropological perspective, their critical analysis and will highlight the limitations of each model, as well as a possible synthesis of a model of ethical evaluation of technologies. Afterwords, it can be decided whether a particular technology - such as those involved in synthetic biology - poses risks to the environment, to those involved in research, to future generations (including humans, but not only), to humanity as a whole or to present or future ecosystems.
References
Central Intelligence Agency & Directorate of Intelligence. (2003). The Darker Bioweapons Future. https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/bw1103.pdf
Cullet, P. (2006). Liability and redress for modern biotechnology. Yearbook of International Environmental Law, nr. 15/2006, pp. 165–195. https://www.ielrc.org/content/a0601.pdf
Douglas, T., & Savulescu, J. (2010). Synthetic biology and the ethics of knowledge. Journal of medical ethics, 36(11), 687–693. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2010.038232
Eisenhaber, F., Thakar, J., Ponte-Sucre, A., & Dandekar, T. (2022). Editorial: Innovative Strategies From Synthetic Biology and Bacterial Pathways to Master Biochemical Environmental Challenges. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9:828632. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2021.828632
Mackelprang, R., Aurand, E. R., Bovenberg, R.A. L., Brink, K. R., Charo, R. A., Delborne, J. A., Diggans, J., Ellington, A. D., Fortman, J. L., Isaacs, F. J., Medford, J. I., Murray, R. M., Noireaux, V., Palmer, M. J., Zoloth, L., Friedman, D. C. (2021). Guiding Ethical Principles in Engineering Biology Research. ACS Synthetic Biology, 10(5), 907–910. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.1c00129
Maurer, S. M., & Zoloth, L. (2007). Synthesizing Biosecurity. Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences, 63(6), 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2007.11461114
Nordlee, J. A., Taylor, S. L., Townsend, J. A., Thomas, L. A., & Bush, R. K. (1996). Identification of a Brazil-Nut Allergen in Transgenic Soybeans. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334, 688-692. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199603143341103
Pauwels, E. (2013). Public Understanding of Synthetic Biology. BioScience, 63(2), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2013.63.2.4
Preston, C. J. (2018). The Synthetic Age. Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World. MIT Press.
Sandu, A. (2020). Bioetica în criză sau criza bioeticii? O filosofie a pandemiei în societatea medicalizată. Lumen.
Sandu, A., Caras, A. (2013). (CHRISTIAN) Bioethical dilemmas using synthetic biology and nanotechnologies. Journal For The Study Of Religions And Ideologies, 12(35), 158-177. http://jsri.ro/ojs/index.php/jsri/article/view/708/591
Sandu, A. (2016). A Levinasian Opening on the Affirmative Ethics of Care. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 15(43), 28-47. http://jsri.ro/ojs/index.php/jsri/article/view/790
Sands, G., Atwood, K., Collinson, S., Bohn, K., & CNN. (2020). US government report assesses China intentionally concealed severity of coronavirus. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/03/politics/mike-pompeo-china-coronavirus-supplies/index.html
Saukshmya, T., & Chugh, A. (2010). Commercializing Synthetic Biology: Socio-ethical Concerns and Challenges Under Intellectual Property Regime. Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, 16, 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1057/jcb.2009.28
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosophy of Technology (2018). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/technology/
Terec-Vlad, L. (2016). The Principle of Responsibility towards the Human Non-Presence or the
Non-Human Presence. Postmodern Openings, 7(2), 79-89.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/2016.0702.06
Van Dooren, T. (2008). Inventing Seed: The Nature(s) of Intellectual Property in Plants. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 26(4), 676–697. https://doi.org/10.1068/dtvd
Van den Belt, H. (2013). Synthetic biology, patenting, health and global justice. Systems and synthetic biology, 7(3), 87–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11693-012-9098-7
Venter, C. (2022). Synthetic Biology. J. Craig Venter Institute. https://www.jcvi.org/research/synthetic-biology
Wilson, E. (2003). The Future of Life. Vintage.
Wodak, J. (2020). (Human-Inflected) Evolution in an Age of (Human-Induced) Extinction: Synthetic Biology Meets the Anthropocene. Humanities, 9(49), 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/h9040126
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Postmodern Openings Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
