Ambivalences of Creating Life: Societal and Philosophical Dimensions of Synthetic Biology (Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment Book 45)

"Synthetic biology" is the label of a new technoscientific field with many different facets and agendas. One common aim is to "create life", primarily by using engineering principles to design and modify biological systems for human use. In a wider context, the topic has become one of the big cases in the legitimization processes associated with the political agenda to solve global problems with the aid of (bio-)technological innovation. Conceptual-level and meta-level analyses are needed: we should sort out conceptual ambiguities to agree on what we talk about, and we need to spell out agendas to see the disagreements clearly. The book is based on the interdisciplinary summer school "Analyzing the societal dimensions of synthetic biology", which took place in Berlin in September 2014. The contributions address controversial discussions around the philosophical examination, public perception, moral evaluation and governance of synthetic biology." -- Orbis Yale University Library Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Editorial: Ambivalences in Societal and Philosophical Dimensions of Synthetic Biology....Pages 1-8 The Synthetic Nature of Biology....Pages 9-53 Making-of Synthetic Biology: The European CyanoFactory Research Consortium....Pages 55-72 Synthetic Biology for Space Exploration: Promises and Societal Implications....Pages 73-100 “First Species Whose Parent Is a Computer”—Synthetic Biology as Technoscience, Colonizing Futures, and the Problem of the Digital....Pages 101-113 “Some Kind of Genetic Engineering... Only One Step Further”—Public Perceptions of Synthetic Biology in Austria....Pages 115-140 Synthetic Biology in the Press....Pages 141-156 Let’s Talk About... Synthetic Biology—Emerging Technologies and the Public....Pages 157-175 Public Engagement in Synthetic Biology: “Experts”, “Diplomats” and the Creativity of “Idiots”....Pages 177-197 Early Engagement with Synthetic Biology in the Netherlands—Initiatives by the Rathenau Instituut....Pages 199-213 A Critical Participatory Approach to the Evaluation of Synthetic Biology....Pages 215-241 Synthetic Biology—Playing Games?....Pages 243-250 Metaphors of Life: Reflections on Metaphors in the Debate on Synthetic Biology....Pages 251-265 Debasement of Life? A Critical Review of Some Conceptual and Ethical Objections to Synthetic Biology....Pages 267-274 Engineers of Life? A Critical Examination of the Concept of Life in the Debate on Synthetic Biology....Pages 275-292 Synthetic Biology and the Argument from Continuity with Established Technologies....Pages 293-311 Synthetic Biology Between Engineering and Natural Science. A Hermeneutic Methodology for Laboratory Research Practice....Pages 313-323 Epistemological Implications of Synthetic Biology: A Heideggerian Perspective....Pages 325-335 "Synthetic biology" is the label of a new technoscientific field with many different facets and agendas. One common aim is to "create life", primarily by using engineering principles to design and modify biological systems for human use. In a wider context, the topic has become one of the big cases in the legitimization processes associated with the political agenda to solve global problems with the aid of (bio- )technological innovation. Conceptual-level and meta-level analyses are needed: we should sort out conceptual ambiguities to agree on what we talk about, and we need to spell out agendas to see the disagreements clearly. The book is based on the interdisciplinary summer school "Analyzing the societal dimensions of synthetic biology", which took place in Berlin in September 2014. The contributions address controversial discussions around the philosophical examination, public perception, moral evaluation and governance of synthetic biology."--Orbis Yale University Library Kristin Hagen, Margret Engelhard, Georg Toepfer, Editors. Based On The Interdisciplinary Summer School Analyzing The Societal Dimensions Of Synthetic Biology, Which Took Place In Berlin In September 2014--page 4 Of Cover. Academy Publication. Includes Bibliographical References.