Posted Monday 24 May 2010
In responding to headlines about recent advances in synthetic biology The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church says “The creation of a Synthetic Cell marks a significant step forward in scientific research. It promises an enticing range of possible outcomes: new bio-fuels, clean water, new ways of cleaning up pollution, new vaccines and drugs, new sources of food. For our overcrowded planet, such possibilities are a tempting prospect. It is all too easy either to over-hype the possibilities or to reach for doom-laden language about scientists ‘playing God’.
“Yet this new discovery raises difficulties and dilemmas which are all too familiar in the important dialogue which must continue to develop between science and ethics. Those who wish to raise ethical and other questions have difficulty grasping the complexity of the science. Those who lack expert scientific knowledge find it difficult to arrive at a measured understanding of both the possibilities and the dangers of what is on offer. The scientists, on the other hand, are at risk of being intoxicated by their achievements and are less willing to engage whole-heartedly in moral and ethical questioning. In the mix also are the funders who have commercial and other interests in what has been discovered.
“What is needed now is a period in which, as the research develops, it is possible to take a measured view both of the possible applications and their benefits for human society and of the potential dangers. Only as a result of that dialogue will the true and long term benefits for humanity become evident and be developed in such a way as to ensure the maximum benefit for the whole of humanity while avoiding the dangers.”
-Ends-
Category: Primus
