Wicked Solutions to Wicked Problems? A Christian Ethical Reflection on Synthetic Biology as Nature Conservation

Philosophia Reformata 85 (2):181-197 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

While a distinction should be made between wicked problems as first defined by Churchman and Rittel and Webber and problems that are merely challenging and difficult to solve, in this contribution, I argue that climate change and the resulting destruction of nature could be explained as a wicked problem. One of the proposed solutions to climate change, making use of synthetic biology for nature conservation, has the potential to be classified not only as a wicked solution but as a solution that spawns a number of other wicked problems. I will examine the ethical issues raised by synthetic biology as a wicked solution to this super wicked problem from the perspective of Christian ethics, drawing in particular on the resources available in Christian ecotheology and, specifically, notions of interdependence, relationality, responsible stewardship, and global justice.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Wicked Problems in a Technological World.Marc J. de Vries - 2020 - Philosophia Reformata 85 (2):125-137.
Wicked Problems: Background and Current State.Natallia Pashkevich - 2020 - Philosophia Reformata 85 (2):119-124.
Why, Exactly, Is Climate Change a Wicked Problem?Ernst M. Conradie - 2020 - Philosophia Reformata 85 (2):226-242.
Dewey, Addams, and Beyond.Danielle Lake - 2015 - Contemporary Pragmatism 12 (2):251-274.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-11-19

Downloads
7 (#1,201,127)

6 months
3 (#445,838)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

The historical roots of our ecological crisis.Lynn White Jr - forthcoming - Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, Belmont: Wadsworth Company.

Add more references