The Wisdom of Negativity: Embracing Public Concerns About Emerging Technologies

Abstract

There can be a temptation to dismiss moral pushback against novel science and technology, particularly commonplace labels for nanotechnology and synthetic biology like “playing God” or “messing with nature". One of the reasons for this is an implicit association between tragic themes and a lack of constructive benefit. Therefore, this paper uses concepts from art and cinema to offer a new perspective on public "fears": ecstatic reframing. By treating negative narratives not as roadblocks to progress, but portals into latent dreams, this novel method reframes such views as housing a positive vision. However, while this offers a new approach regarding public talk of emerging science and technology, lay ethics is ultimately insufficient to deal with the underlying problems that stimulate their tragic tone. This paper uses a classic concept from anthropology--rites of passage--to argue that public unease is fundamentally cultural: modernity's lack of a collectively agreed upon worldview and primordial ritual structure for stewarding change. This "cultural deficit" may lie at the core of tragic narratives regarding emerging science and technology.