Synthetic biology as understanding, control, construction, and creation? Techno-epistemic and socio-political implications of different stances in talking and doing technoscience

Systems biology and synthetic biology are said to represent ‘two sides of the same coin,’ with systems biology focussing on understanding and synthetic biology on construction. This notion is based on the implicit assumption that understanding and construction (or science and engineering) are, in themselves, ‘two sides of the same coin.’ Moreover, synthetic biology has been framed as an approach that encompasses understanding as well as control, construction, and creation. In the ‘talking’ and ‘doing’ of synthetic biology, one can discern a contemplative, interventionist, constructionist, and creationist stance. It is the aim of this paper to illustrate these stances in detail and to discuss more generally their techno-epistemic and socio-political implications. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Permanent address: Institute for Technology Assessment, Strohgasse 45/5, 1030 Wien, Austria. Tel.: +43 1515816580. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1 http://apps.webofknowledge.com/ (accessed 04.04.2012).