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Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing

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Published on: January 24, 2020

Defeating the argument from hubris.

Bernard Baertschi¹

¹Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Geneva, CMU, 1 rue Michel-Servet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. bernard.baertschi@unige.ch

|September 10, 2013

Summary

Synthetic biology, a field of biotechnology, faces accusations of hubris for attempting to create life. This analysis argues such blame is unwarranted, regardless of scientific or non-scientific definitions of life.

Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Synthetic Biology
Philosophy of Science

Background:

Synthetic biology is often criticized for

Purpose of the Study:

To address the ethical concerns surrounding synthetic biology.
To analyze the philosophical arguments against creating life.
To demonstrate that accusations of hubris are unwarranted.

Main Methods:

Distinguishing between the impossibility and immorality of creating life.
Examining the concept of life from a scientific worldview.
Considering non-scientific (vitalist, supernaturalist) conceptions of life.

Main Results:

The scientific definition of life precludes the notion of hubris in synthetic biology.

Keywords:

artificial life hubris playing God synthetic biology

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Even under non-scientific definitions, synthetic biology's actions do not inherently contradict vitalist or supernaturalist views.

The ethical blame of hubris is unfounded.

Conclusions:

Synthetic biology does not exhibit hubris.
Ethical criticisms based on playing God are philosophically and scientifically unsupported.
The advancement of biotechnology is ethically sound.