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"Bioethics Fiction."
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Science fiction authors’ perspectives on human genetic engineering
Participants in the human gene editing debate often consider examples from science fiction but have rarely engaged directly with the science fiction community as stakeholders. To understand how science fiction authors develop and spread their views on gene editing, we created an online questionnaire that was answered by 78 authors, including 71 who had previously written about genetic engineering. When asked which ethical issues science fiction should explore, respondents most frequently mentioned affordability, new social divisions, consent and unforeseen safety risks. They rarely advocated exploring psychological effects or religious objections. When asked which works of fiction had influenced their perceptions of gene editing, the most frequent responses were the film Gattaca, the Star Trek franchise and the novels The Island of Doctor Moreau and Brave New World. Unlike other stakeholders, they rarely cited Frankenstein as an influence. This article examines several differences between bioethicists, the general public and science fiction authors, and discusses how this community’s involvement might benefit proponents and opponents of gene editing. It also provides an overview of works mentioned by our respondents that might serve as useful references in the debate.
Journal Article
Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus: a classic novel to stimulate the analysis of complex contemporary issues in biomedical sciences
Background
Advances in biomedicine can substantially change human life. However, progress is not always followed by ethical reflection on its consequences or scientists’ responsibility for their creations. The humanities can help health sciences students learn to critically analyse these issues; in particular, literature can aid discussions about ethical principles in biomedical research. Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus
(1818) is an example of a classic novel presenting complex scenarios that could be used to stimulate discussion.
Main text
Within the framework of the 200th anniversary of the novel, we searched PubMed to identify works that explore and discuss its value in teaching health sciences. Our search yielded 56 articles, but only two of these reported empirical findings. Our analysis of these articles identified three main approaches to using
Frankenstein
in teaching health sciences: discussing the relationship between literature and science, analysing ethical issues in biomedical research, and examining the importance of empathy and compassion in healthcare and research. After a critical discussion of the articles, we propose using
Frankenstein
as a teaching tool to prompt students to critically analyse ethical aspects of scientific and technological progress, the need for compassion and empathy in medical research, and scientists’ responsibility for their discoveries.
Conclusion
Frankenstein
can help students reflect on the personal and social limits of science, the connection between curiosity and scientific progress, and scientists’ responsibilities. Its potential usefulness in teaching derives from the interconnectedness of science, ethics, and compassion.
Frankenstein
can be a useful tool for analysing bioethical issues related to scientific and technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and cloning. Empirical studies measuring learning outcomes are necessary to confirm the usefulness of this approach.
Journal Article
Science fiction in bioethics: a role for feminist narratology
This article explores the various reasons science-fictional references feature so prominently in bioethical debate, particularly regarding emerging reproductive biotechnologies. It will reflect on how science-fictional references are often co-opted in bioethics scholarship to promote technoconservatism, before considering how bioethicists can engage more appropriately with this genre in practice. This will include a discussion of which kinds of texts might be best suited to stimulate meaningful debate, and how using tools of literary analysis, such as narratology, can maximise the potential benefits of uniting these fields.
Journal Article
Empathy and big five personality model in medical students and its relationship to gender and specialty preference: a cross-sectional study
Background
Given the influence that personality can have on empathy, this study explores the relationship between empathy and personality, using three different measures of empathy, and taking into account gender and specialty preference.
Methods
Cross-sectional study. One hundred and ten medical students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Empathy Quotient, and the NEO-FFI Big Five personality model
.
Multivariable linear regression was performed to assess the association between personality traits and empathy.
Results
Empathy scales showed weak and moderate correlation with personality. The strongest correlations were observed between IRI-Fantasy and Openness, and between IRI-Personal Distress and Neuroticism. Gender and specialty preference can modify this relationship. The extreme groups of Empathy Quotient had significant differences in most personality traits.
Conclusions
This study confirmed that empathy is related to personality. Using three empathy scales allows personalizing the evaluation of different empathy models and its relation with personality. These results can help to design programs to study if some personalized intervention strategies could improve the empathy in medical students.
Journal Article
Zombie Bioethics
The authors acknowledge that we do not yet have the technical capability to create such beings, but recent advances in stem cells, gene editing, and artificial uteruses \"provide a pathway to producing living human bodies without the neural components that allow us to think, be aware, or feel pain.\" The kidneys make urine; the liver makes bile; the immune system fights off infections; wounds heal; hair and fingernails grow; endocrine organs secrete hormones; broken bones heal and broken skin repairs; children grow proportionately as they age. The brain-death criterion was developed by a Harvard Medical School committee in 1968 to free up ICU beds and promote organ transplantation-with death itself forming the foundation of the organ-transplant enterprise. If the latter, why would family members want to be present for that?
Journal Article
Role of science fiction in conceptualising the reproductive future: a linguistic and literary perspective
In this paper, we explore how members of the public invoke science fiction tropes and references in response to the topic of complete ectogenesis (where the entire development of a fetus takes place outside of the human body in an artificial womb environment) and, to a lesser extent, genome editing. This paper addresses a critical research gap as fiction is central to how the public make sense of new technologies. This research is timely, as human clinical trials of artificial placenta and womb technology are expected to start within the next few years. We argue that gauging public opinion on this technology is a critical early step in understanding how the public might respond to such new technologies, should they become available in the near future and be presented in a particular fashion.Using corpus linguistic techniques, we analysed a large dataset of 15 548 YouTube comments (382 057 words) made in response to a video that depicts a fictional artificial womb facility, which went viral in December 2022 when some viewers believed it to be real. We identified several statistically significant trends, as commenters associated the video with science fiction, horror and dystopian fiction, while also making specific reference to Aldous Huxley, Brave New World and Star Wars (Clone Wars). These observations reveal how popular science fiction narratives serve as a key point of reference and that they stand as a powerful warning in the public imagination, and as a potential barrier to public acceptance of new reproductive technologies—despite the potential benefits for social justice and reproductive rights. Our findings therefore have implications for how scientific developments are communicated to the general public.
Journal Article
The Monster as the Precarious Other: Positioning the Posthuman in the Malayalam Film Athisayan
The concept of the posthuman, or rather the superhuman entity, is a fascinating element that several film industries have dabbled in over the years. The Malayalam film industry, too, has tried its hand in depicting posthumanism through science fiction genre films. The 2007 Malayalam film Athisayan is one such successful attempt at bringing to the Malayalee audience the idea of a superhuman entity capable of destruction. However, Athisayan portrays a superhuman, or rather a monster, with whom the audience empathises. Moreover, the film opens up the idea that the monster, despite its enhanced capabilities, will always be othered by the anthropocentric society. To put this argument into perspective, this paper will analyse the monster in Athisayan as the \"other\" -by looking into the dynamics of the monster's positionality within the film. Borrowing from Pramod K Nayar's book Posthumanism and Judith Butler's definition of the state of precarity, this paper establishes the monster, or rather the superhuman entity, as the precarious other despite its physical strength and advantage. The paper also looks into bioethics, as portrayed in the film, to analyse ethical practices involved in human experimentation.
Journal Article