Bibliograph

Synthetic biology and morality, artificial life and the bounds of nature, edited by Gregory E. Kaebnick and Thomas H. Murray

Type

Label

Synthetic biology and morality, artificial life and the bounds of nature, edited by Gregory E. Kaebnick and Thomas H. Murray

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Synthetic biology and morality

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

829999326

Responsibility statement

edited by Gregory E. Kaebnick and Thomas H. Murray

Series statement

Basic bioethics

Sub title

artificial life and the bounds of nature

Summary

"Synthetic biology, which aims to design and build organisms that serve human needs, has potential applications that range from producing biofuels to programming human behavior. The emergence of this new form of biotechnology, however, raises a variety of ethical questions--first and foremost, whether synthetic biology is intrinsically troubling in moral terms. Is it an egregious example of scientists "playing God"? Synthetic Biology and Morality takes on this threshold ethical question, as well as others that follow, offering a range of philosophical and political perspectives on the power of synthetic biology. The contributors consider the basic question of the ethics of making new organisms, with essays that lay out the conceptual terrain and offer opposing views of the intrinsic moral concerns; discuss the possibility that synthetic organisms are inherently valuable; and address whether, and how, moral objections to synthetic biology could be relevant to policy making and political discourse. Variations of these questions have been raised before, in debates over other biotechnologies, but, as this book shows, they take on novel and illuminating form when considered in the context of synthetic biology."--Publisher's description

Table Of Contents

Appeals to nature and the natural in debates about synthetic biology / Andrew Lustig -- Creating life: synthetic biology and ethics / Joachim Boldt -- Engineered microbes in industry and science: a new human relationship to nature? / Gregory E. Kaebnick -- Lessons from environmental ethics about the intrinsic value of synthetic life / Mark A. Bedau and Ben T. Larson -- Three puzzles regarding the moral status of synthetic organisms / John Basl and Ronald Sandler -- Synthetic bacteria, natural processes, and intrinsic value / Christopher J. Preston -- Synthetic biology and public reason / Jon Mandle -- Biotechnology as cultural meaning: reflection on the moral reception of synthetic biology / Bruce Jennings -- "Teaching humanness" claims in synthetic biology and public policy bioethics / John H. Evans

Classification