Methodological considerations about the ethical and social implications of protocells

This chapter argues that asking about life’s origins uncovers intriguing questions about chance, meaning and order, and allows a rather startling discourse about the nature of knowledge in a world with physical realities and enduring cultural narratives. It addresses some of the many ethical issues engaged in synthetic biology and its emerging community of basic research scientists. It describes how the design of an artificial, self-organizing, evolving cellular environment may cross the border between things that are nonliving and things that are living. This chapter suggests that the main goal of ethics is a stance of deeply informed and thorough attention, rather than calls for moratoria or cessation of activities.