Stefan Heuser - Böcker

This volume presents the proceedings of an interdisciplinary workshop at Braunschweig University of Technology in a collection of English and German articles (English summaries are provided for all German articles). Focusing on biotechnology, experts from biology, biotechnology, ethics, philosophy, theology, education, and social sciences investigated how metaphors shape the language of life science. The authors examined conceptual, absolute, and hidden metaphors (e.g., “genetic scissors,” “genetic code,” “antibodies,” and “life”) in molecular biology and biotechnology. By exploring their roles in describing phenomena, guiding research, and influencing public perceptions, the authors investigate how metaphors generate and transform knowledge, affect views of life and therapy, and inspire innovation. This volume integrates systematic metaphor analysis with ethical, philosophical, and pedagogical perspectives on the significance of metaphors in biotechnology research and dissemination. Special attention was paid to metaphors’ role in public communication, potentially determining acceptance or rejection of biotechnological advances. Ultimately, the workshop underscored how metaphors influence scientific progress in multiple ways and therefore require critical reflection.

The hermeneutics of human life is one of the most challenging issues in the fields of bioscience and of ethics today. Recent breakthroughs in bio science challenge the prevalent metaphors and paradigms which define human life in the human and natural sciences, that influence our understanding of «diseases», «illness», «therapy», «aging», «dying», and, consequently, also shape medical practice. In the essays collected in this book, scientists, ethicists, philosophers and theologians bring Bonhoeffer’s ethics and his theological anthropology into dialogue with bioscience and explore current bioethical and anthropological issues. All articles were first presented as lectures at the Third International Bonhoeffer Colloquium at Freie Universität Berlin, 2009. Bonhoeffer’s Ethics, as presented in this book, helps to articulate a semantics of human life which stimulates a debate between science and ethics, and which assists in finding fresh ways for understanding human life and the related tasks of scientific research and medical practice.