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The metaphysical lessons of synthetic biology and neuroscience
- Source :
- Comptes rendus biologies. 338(8-9)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- In this paper, I examine some important metaphysical lessons that are often presented as derived from two new scientific disciplines: synthetic biology and neuroscience. I analyse four of them: the nature of life, the existence of a soul (the mind-body problem), personhood, and free will. Many caveats are in order, and each ‘advance’ or each case should be assessed for itself. I conclude that a main lesson can nevertheless be learned: in conjunction with modern science, neuroscience and synthetic biology allow us to enrich old metaphysical debates, to deepen and even renew them. In particular, it becomes less and less plausible to consider life, mind, person, and agency as non-natural or non-physical entities.
- Subjects :
- General Immunology and Microbiology
Personhood
Mind–body problem
media_common.quotation_subject
Agency (philosophy)
Metaphysics
Neurosciences
General Medicine
Biology
Determinism
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
Synthetic biology
Free will
Humans
Synthetic Biology
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Soul
Neuroscience
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17683238
- Volume :
- 338
- Issue :
- 8-9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Comptes rendus biologies
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....62850eb2758f615a4ed1a6ce1d299f59