Visions beyond Control: The Role of Art in Exploring Dual-Use Bioethics Education for Scientists

Abstract

In the wake of the anthrax attacks in the US in 2001, the Biological Weapons Convention has increasingly focused its efforts on reducing the risk of bioterrorism. One of the questions that received particular attention was how to prevent the misuse of benign biological research for malign purposes. The argument is that modern biological research is rife with research that is dual-use in nature, i.e. that it can be used either for benign or malign purposes. Over the last decade, the debate has increasingly focussed on the role and responsibility of the scientific community in addressing this issue. Education in dual-use ethics has been considered as one of the major factors that can help with the dual-use problem. However, even general science ethics education is limited at the moment and presents a challenge to any lecturer. In discussing the views of Martin Heidegger and Richard Rorty’s interpretation of Heidegger, this article argues for the use of art and bioart as educational vehicles to help scientists explore their roles and responsibilities with regard to their own research and its dual-use nature.