Michael Funk

Synthetic Biology Between Engineering and Natural Science. A Hermeneutic Methodology for Laboratory Research Practice

A methodological framework of synthetic biology is developed from a philosophical point of view. The emphasis is on the status of synthetic biology as a laboratory-science and hybrid of engineering and natural science, which is shaped by technological research practice. First, three methodological turns are described: a turn from physics to biology as new general paradigm, a turn from classical natural sciences and its experiments to an engineering and new technological laboratory paradigm, and a turn from research theory to research practice. Subsequently, some fundamentals of a theory of engineering science are introduced in order to clarify similarities and differences between engineering and natural sciences, laboratories and classical experiments, and their impacts on synthetic biology. I then apply to synthetic biology the methodology of Technikhermeneutik (material hermeneutics, hermeneutics of technologies) as elaborated by Don Ihde, Bernhard Irrgang and Hans Poser. I develop a heuristic scheme of the research practice of synthetic biology with respect to different layers of organic development and engineering actions.

Data, Speed, and Know-How: Ethical and Philosophical Issues in Human-Autonomous Systems Cooperation in Military Contexts

Human-Autonomous Systems Cooperation raises several ethical and philosophical issues that need to be addressed not only at the stage of implementation of the system but also preferably at the stage of development. This paper identifies and discusses some of these issues, with a specific focus on human-machine cooperation problems and chances, focusing usage of these systems in military contexts. It is argued that ethical, philosophical, and technical problems include 1 data security and monitoring/management, 2 agency, distancing and speed/time, and 3 cooperation, networks and knowledge. These issues need to be taken into account not only in the application but also in processes of research and development and legal regulation.