Genetic Engineering, Precautionary Ethics and Responsibility to the Future

Abstract

“Precaution,” like “technological fix” and “magic bullet,” is a key term in the agricultural biotechnology debate. Discussions about precautionary ethics and precautionary principles are the result of changing attitudes about the notion of technological progress. Precautionary discourse is a response to concerns over scientific uncertainty and complex risks to human health and the environment associated with climate change and emerging technologies like GE. This chapter examines Hans Jonas’ precautionary ethics with the purpose of identifying philosophical insights capable of contributing to a narrative of sustainability. The first part of this chapter situates Jonas’ ethics for the future within a larger historical context. The second part discusses three of the main elements in his ethical theory: (1) comparative futurology, (2) casuistry of the imagination, and (3) the precautionary rule. The rest of the chapter examines a high profile debate between two important public intellectuals over precautionary ethics and biotechnology. The debate demonstrates “casuistry of the imagination” in deriving the moral principles we need to confront the dangers of powerful new biotechnologies.