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Biologists as engineers of the living world
Today, Seed Magazine described biologists as "engineers of the living world" in an article advocation open source approaches to bioengineering. The merits of the argument for open source approaches notwithstanding, I cringe at the thought of biologists as a class of engineer. Engineering, as I see it, is an agency of instrumental rationality in the critical theory sense of the term (http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/instrumental_rationality). (The Seed article doesn't do anything to challenge that view). I interpret instrumental rationality to be linear, reductionist and deterministic, being narrowly focused on the achievement of specific ends to the exclusion of information extraneous to predetermined objectives. Engineering embraces simplicity. Biology, on the other hand, is the apotheosis of complexity.
A simplistic approach to a problem involving a complex system is a recipe for disaster. The world is full of examples of consequences that were unintended, mainly because the grasp of the system being engineered was so shallow. Engineering approaches to management, psychiatry (anyone remember lobotomies?) and sociology (urban renewal) have produced some pretty disastrous consequences. In biology, invasive species may in part be a manifestation of an instrumental rationality. Undoubtedly, there are new approaches to engineering that account for complexity and embrace chaos, including the systems theory embraced by one of my personal heroes, Donella Meadows. But will a complex systems approach be used in the biological engineering discussed in the Seed Magazine article? Indications are that biological engineers will remain focused on their narrow objectives, oblivious to the risks associated with tinkering in complex systems. I hasten to add here that I am not an anti-GMO luddite; I don't actually see that we have much choice, backed into the narrowest of corners as we are with climate change and a burgeoning population. Let us hope, if not for wisdom, at least for some adult supervision as we play with our legos.Amplify’d from seedmagazine.com
Can the reengineering of biology be coupled to the spread of tools and knowledge sufficient to improve the health of people and the environment worldwide? We believe the answer is yes, albeit with much work to be accomplished both technically and culturally. Practically, a comprehensive overhaul of the process by which living systems are engineered is needed. Legal, political, and cultural innovations are also required to collectively insure that the resulting knowledge and tools are freely availably to those who would use them constructively.
