Artifacts and Natural Modified Entities Trough Biotechnology
Abstract
The philosophical problem represented by genetically modified organisms has been insufficiently addressed in discussions of artifacts in the philosophy of technology. The purpose of this article is to analyze different philosophical positions regarding this type of complex natural entities, which cannot be defined as simple natural objects, since they have been intervened by means of technique, but neither as artificial objects, similar to industrial machines or to another type of artifactual object. Two philosophical postures are evaluated: the first asserts that these entities are artificial, in the understanding that artifacts are man-made objects. The second says that these modified entities are artificially produced natural objects, according to Quintanilla and Jonas. A proposal is presented that offers arguments to recognize, from several perspectives, that natural entities are autogenerative systems: the constitutive autonomy of Maturana and Varela, the self-organization postulated by Kauffman and the autonomy of Ruiz-Mirazo and Moreno. A definition of genetically modified organisms is proposed, arguing that they are autogenerative living systems that have an intentional design in the artificial components. The main consequence is that such entities are not equal to artefacts.
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