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“You are special” But not as special as you think.

Explore the creation of "artificial" life and its implications, from synthetic DNA to ethical debates on owning life forms. Delve into the essence of life and examine the connection between self-awareness, feelings, and rights in different species.

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“You are special” But not as special as you think.

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  1. “You are special” But not as special as you think.

  2. CB 1.3 What is life?

  3. 1. They must have organization.

  4. 2. They must have metabolism. 3. They must respond to the environment.

  5. 4. They must be able to reproduce themselves.

  6. Living organisms must fit all of the following criteria: (modified from Campbell “Biology”) 1. They must have organization. 2. They must have metabolism. 3. They must respond to the environment. 4. They must be able to reproduce themselves.

  7. Can we create “artificial” life?

  8. Can we create “artificial” life? What would it be like? Can something with these traits be considered not alive?

  9. Creation of a bacterial cell controlled by a chemically synthesized genome.C Venter et al Science 329: 52-56. Synthetic DNA put into a M. capricolum recipient cell...The new cell has the characteristics of M. mycoides Synthesized DNA based onM. mycoides “The new cells have expected ... properties and are capable of continuous self-replication.”

  10. ...even the simplest forms of life have unpredictable, emergent properties. These properties are often useful and we want to control them, but their unpredictability presents a conundrum for traditional engineering. We must develop and perfect methods for engineering emergence.-Mark Bedau Professor of philosophy and humanities, Reed College, Oregon Life after the synthetic cell Nature 465: 422–424 (27 May 2010)

  11. Venter's achievement would seem to extinguish the argument that life requires a special force or power to exist. In my view, this makes it one of the most important scientific achievements in the history of mankind.-Arthur Caplan Professor of bioethics, University of Pennsylvania Life after the synthetic cell Nature 465: 422–424 (27 May 2010)

  12. Attempt to Patent Artificial Organism Draws a Protest Science 15 June 2007:316, p. 1557

  13. Patents give 20 year monopoly for inventor www.uspto.gov

  14. Can someone own life?

  15. Why are some life forms better/worse than others?

  16. Who/what receives human rights?

  17. How different are we from other animals? See video: http://www.pbs.org/saf/1504/

  18. Do Animals Have Feelings?Antonio Damasio proposed (2003) • Primary - instinctual • Social - group interaction • Feelings - self-reflection

  19. Are non-human animals self-aware?The mirror test: developed by Gallup in 1980s

  20. a bottlenose dolphin trying to see a spot painted on it’s side http://www.earthtrust.org/delbook.html

  21. What about birds?

  22. This pigeon has a bib so it cannot see it’s chest

  23. put dot, and determine pigeons actions in front of mirror http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ga5o9cyg9A http://psychology.lafayette.edu/files/2010/06/selfaware.mov

  24. Several species can recognize self in mirror by dot test or actions in front of mirror. They do not see mirror image as other, but self.

  25. Is a sense of self necessary for feelings? Should our interactions with animals depend on their self-awareness? Is self-awareness necessary for feeling pain, fear, etc? Nature 419, 255 (19 September 2002) Awareness: Animal reflections by Marc Bekoff Dr. Jane Goodall speaks about what separates humans from chimpanzees (not much). http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jane_goodall_on_what_separates_us_from_the_apes.html I did not show this video in class, but I mentioned it.

  26. Maintaining a complex society requires culture and language.

  27. The complexity of our societies is reflected in human culture… Do other animals have culture?

  28. Do other animals have culture? In rats http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/year3/PSY339EvolutionaryPsychology/EvolutionaryPsychology.htm

  29. Who/what receives human rights? http://www.pbs.org/saf/1504/

  30. What kind of interactions do we have with non-human animals?

  31. We eat them

  32. We keep them as pets

  33. We put them to work

  34. We hunt them

  35. We see them in zoos

  36. We put them in the circus

  37. They ride motorcycles

  38. We study them

  39. We use them in research

  40. Is a sense of self necessary for feelings? Should our interactions with animals depend on their self-awareness? Is self-awareness necessary for feeling pain, fear, etc? Nature 419, 255 (19 September 2002) Awareness: Animal reflections by Marc Bekoff

  41. What rights does human uniqueness impart? This video relates to similarities/differences between humans and non-humans. Check it out if you are interested: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/07/15/managing-people-like.html

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