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Synthetic biology and the ethics of knowledge
  1. Thomas Douglas,
  2. Julian Savulescu
  1. Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Thomas Douglas, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Suite 8, Littlegate House, 16/17 St Ebbe's Street, Oxford OX1 1PT, UK; thomas.douglas{at}philosophy.ox.ac.uk

Abstract

Synthetic biologists aim to generate biological organisms according to rational design principles. Their work may have many beneficial applications, but it also raises potentially serious ethical concerns. In this article, we consider what attention the discipline demands from bioethicists. We argue that the most important issue for ethicists to examine is the risk that knowledge from synthetic biology will be misused, for example, in biological terrorism or warfare. To adequately address this concern, bioethics will need to broaden its scope, contemplating not just the means by which scientific knowledge is produced, but also what kinds of knowledge should be sought and disseminated.

  • synthetic biology
  • synthetic genes
  • genetic engineering
  • harm minimisation
  • moral status
  • synthetic biology

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Footnotes

  • Funding The authors received funding from the University of Oxford, Christ Church, and the Wellcome Trust.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.