Standing Reserves of Function: A Heideggerian Reading of Synthetic Biology

Philosophy and Technology 25 (2):199-219 (2012)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Synthetic biology, an emerging field of science and technology, intends to make of the natural world a substrate for engineering practice. Drawing inspiration from conventional engineering disciplines, practitioners of synthetic biology hope to make biological systems standardized, calculable, modular, and predictably functional. This essay develops a Heideggerian reading of synthetic biology as a useful perspective with which to identify and explore key facets of this field, its knowledge, its practices, and its products. After overviews of synthetic biology and Heidegger’s account of technology, I discuss calculability, utility, function, setting-upon, and ordering, with the aim of discussing the manner in which synthetic biology works to render the biological world intelligible as something to be used, rather than something that is in and of itself. Having developed this Heideggerian reading, I proffer a number of corrections to his account that enable a more accurate, nuanced understanding of synthetic biology. Specifically, I discuss the notion of Ge-stell and submit that multiple systems of “enframing” may help to make Heidegger’s argument more robust. I suggest that synthetic biology may work to reveal the natural world as a standing-reserve of function.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,221

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Synthetic Biology: A Challenge to Mechanical Explanations in Biology?Michel Morange - 2012 - Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 55 (4):543-553.
Editors' Introduction to Special Issue.Ute Deichmann, Michel Morange & Anthony S. Travis - 2012 - Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 55 (4):470-472.
Synthetic Genomics and the Construction of a Synthetic Bacterial Cell.John I. Glass - 2012 - Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 55 (4):473-489.
Synthetic biology and the ethics of knowledge.T. Douglas & J. Savulescu - 2010 - Journal of Medical Ethics 36 (11):687-693.
The Conception of Life in Synthetic Biology.Anna Https://Orcidorg Deplazes-Zemp - 2012 - Science and Engineering Ethics 18 (4):757-774.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-11-04

Downloads
61 (#236,621)

6 months
1 (#1,027,696)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?