Nano-Bio-Ethics: Ethical Dimensions of Nanobiotechnology is a concise introduction (88 pages) to the key conceptual and ethical issues related to nanobiotechnology. This survey was prepared by the Center of Bioethics at Muenster University and commissioned by the Ethics Board of Nano2Life. As such this publication is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis but rather an overview for the informed public. The merit of its authors is to avoid jargon and technical language so as to make the essays accessible to a large audience. This volume contains three main essays. The first essay is a brief description of the nature of nanobiotechnology – the interface between the disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology at the molecular level. The second contribution is a survey of the major ethical issues surrounding nanobiotechnology. In their essay, Norbert Joemann and Johann Ach offer an overview of four main problem areas: (a) anthropological aspects (enhancement technologies); (b) medical ethical aspects (diagnosis vs. therapeutic possibilities; issues of privacy; costs of these technologies, etc.); (c) social and ethical aspects (issues of social justice, patents, military applications, etc.); and (d) environmental ethical aspects (protection of the environment, grey goo problem, etc.). Each of these various domains of application raises specific ethical issues that require careful ethical consideration. The enabling and disruptive nature of nanobiotechnology makes it difficult to anticipate (in part) its future ethical and social implication. For this reason, Joemann and Ach view "nanoethics" as "eminently important."

Maybe the main contribution to the literature is the essay by Donald Bruce. Writing on behalf of the Ethical, Legal and Social Board of Nano2Life he makes two noteworthy and important claims. First, he points out the necessity to acknowledge more thoroughly the impact of worldviews in current debates on nanobiotechnology. In particular, he stresses the importance of making explicit how one's assumptions frame issues concerning the notion of progress (Does it improve the human condition? What is the goal of progress?) and the concept of the human being (Should we transcend the biological nature of human beings? What are the limits of the transformation of the human body?). Second, Bruce calls for a change in how scientific and technological developments are conveyed to the public. In his view there is a tendency to frame controversial issues in science and technology in terms of the need to educate the public – what he calls a "deficit model of the public understanding of science". This, it is thought, should remove fears and false perceptions about scientific innovations. The assumption is that the public will gain a better understanding of the issues at stake and be supposedly more willing to accept emerging technologies. However, this approach, he asserts, has been discredited and should be replaced by a "genuine two-way communication, in which science learns to listen more to the values, concerns, aspirations and alternative framings of the non-expert…" Bruce is correct in stressing the importance of a two-way communication approach for a successful debate concerning ethical and social implications of nanobiotechnology. However, in his analysis Bruce fails to explain how this is possible practically. The complexity of the issues surrounding nanobiotechnology and the adversarial framework of current bioethical debates are somewhat not conducive to communication. If this volume is destined to the informed public, a section on how this two-way communication approach works would have been helpful.

While this survey does not offer a thorough analysis and fails to provide concrete avenues for a constructive dialogue, it is worth reading for those interested in the debate concerning emerging technologies. Nanobiotechnology does not raise novel issues per se but it would be a mistake not to anticipate its potential risks and moral conundrums. This volume is a good step toward that direction.

© 2007 Fabrice Jotterand

Fabrice Jotterand, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Dallas (Philosophy) and UT Southwestern Medical Center (Program in Ethics in Science & Medicine).

Categories: Ethics