The Bioethicist Who Cried “Synthetic Biology”: An Analysis of the Function of Bioterrorism Predictions in Bioethics

This article analyzes a specter that has haunted bioethics almost since its inception, namely the specter of the misuse of biotechnology by maleficent agents bent on mass destruction, or the complete eradication of human kind and life as we know it. The article provides a general account of why bioe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
Main Author: Holm, Søren 1901-1971 (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2017
In: Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
Year: 2017, Volume: 26, Issue: 2, Pages: 230-238
Further subjects:B existential risk
B bioterrorism argument
B Synthetic Biology
B catastrophic risk
B Slippery Slope
B bioterrorism
B Bioethics
B recycling of arguments
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Summary:This article analyzes a specter that has haunted bioethics almost since its inception, namely the specter of the misuse of biotechnology by maleficent agents bent on mass destruction, or the complete eradication of human kind and life as we know it. The article provides a general account of why bioethicists cry “catastrophic bioterrorism potential” when new biotechnologies emerge, and an analysis of the arguments that flow from the prediction, especially in relation to synthetic biology.
ISSN:1469-2147
Contains:Enthalten in: Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0963180116000827