Papers by Nora S . Vaage
NanoEthics
Within biology and in society, living creatures have long been described using metaphors of machi... more Within biology and in society, living creatures have long been described using metaphors of machinery and computation: ‘bioengineering’, ‘genes as code’ or ‘biological chassis’. This paper builds on Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) argument that such language mechanisms shape how we understand the world. I argue that the living machines metaphor builds upon a certain perception of life entailing an idea of radical human control of the living world, looking back at the historical preconditions for this metaphor. I discuss how design is perceived to enable us to shape natural beings to our will, and consider ethical, epistemological and ontological implications of the prevalence of this metaphor, focusing on its use within synthetic biology. I argue that we urgently need counter-images to the dominant metaphor of living machines and its implied control and propose that artworks can provide such counter-images through upsetting the perception of life as controllable. This is argued through ...
BioSocieties, 2016
Recent amateur and alternative uses of wet laboratory biology techniques have been called by many... more Recent amateur and alternative uses of wet laboratory biology techniques have been called by many names. However, none of the terms currently in use include institutional, entrepreneurial and amateur engagements in biotechnology with non-scientific aims. In this article, the author introduces the more comprehensive concept of fringe biotechnology. While 'DIYbio' has in recent years become a term that covers a wide range of hobbyist approaches to biotechnology, it still excludes several other alternative biotech practices, such as amateur and artistic activities in institutional labs and educational facilities. This seems to imply a continued fundamental divide between the inside of academic and corporate science, and the outside, comprising public, social and cultural uses of the technologies. The author suggests that the term 'fringe biotechnology' opens up for studying biotech activities across the inside-outside divide, and presents a range of examples of fringe biotechnology.
The conference poster presented a model of different approaches to artscience. The visual is a co... more The conference poster presented a model of different approaches to artscience. The visual is a common factor to art and science. Don Idhe (1998) contends that the natural sciences are “intensely visualist”, and that this is a result of modern science culture. Art, while not exclusively visualist, is predominantly so. Today many people, both among artists, scientists and laymen, are starting to look at art as a possible gateway, a communication channel for science. Art is being used actively, in different manners, to advance public awareness on a variety of research issues. When this is the case, art takes a “subservient” role to science, providing it with a means of reaching an audience that would otherwise Is the main function of art that utilizes scientific knowledge the presentation of such knowledge? Or can it be critique, problematization, discussion, invention? On the other end of the scale, there are artists who utilize technology, with purely artistic goals. In this situatio...
ABSTRACT Science and religion are often viewed as dichotomies, one being associated with systemat... more ABSTRACT Science and religion are often viewed as dichotomies, one being associated with systematized, empirical observation, the other more with spirituality, morality and human existence. This can be seen in the thesis of secularism and the presumed rationalization of the modern world. The separation of science and religion has been productive and effective in generating extensive technological and scientific “innovation”, but this is an artificial division. In this chapter, Øyen, Vaage and Lund-Olsen argue that, while the methods employed by scientists and theologists have often differed greatly, their cognitive and social goals have frequently overlapped. Also, in many cases, both scientists and religious believers are concerned with the same phenomena, but arrive at very differing conclusions. They are separated by the practices, symbols, rituals, institutions and communities which sustain their ways of interpreting and perceiving the world.
This is a peer-reviewed chapter in the edited book Food Futures: Ethics, Science and Culture (eds... more This is a peer-reviewed chapter in the edited book Food Futures: Ethics, Science and Culture (eds. A.S. Olsson, S.M. Aráujo, M.F. Vieira). Considering that meat consumption will become an increased problem in years to come, alternatives, some more likely than others, have long been under discussion. Multiple scenarios and speculative cultural manifestations for food futures coexist and compete for public and political attention. The paper discusses speculative design and art approaches to food, focusing on de-extincted meat and in vitro meat. De-extinction is treated through the examples of Center for Genomic Gastronomy’s De-extinction Deli, which ironically suggests that an animal species brought back from extinction would again become objects for consumption, and Ai Hasegawa’s I Wanna Deliver a Dolphin, in which the designer proposes that human women might give birth to endangered Maui dolphins, and, as one of several possibilities, that the animals might then be eaten by their “mothers”. In vitro meat is discussed through the Tissue Culture and Art Project’s Victimless Utopia series, which featured the first actual lab-grown meat to be consumed by humans, as well as Next Nature’s speculative design prototypes of in vitro meat products. I argue that these artists and designers capture what Hal Herzog has called ”the troubled middle”, who exhibit most clearly our propensity to put animals to more than one use: we might have a pet bunny, yet eat rabbit in a restaurant.
Images of Knowledge: The Epistemic Lives of Pictures and Visualisations, 2016
What do we mean by "images of knowledge"? The term, in our usage, denotes a exible concept that c... more What do we mean by "images of knowledge"? The term, in our usage, denotes a exible concept that can accommodate a variety of objects, approaches and processes, but that has a gravitational pull sufficient to secure its integrity. This introduction chapter discusses the connection between images and knowledge, and how the various chapters of the book explore this connection in diverse ways.
Images of Knowledge. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303389308_Images_of_Knowledge [accessed Aug 18, 2017].
Images of Knowledge: The Epistemic Lives of Pictures and Visualisations, 2016
How may the open-endedness of bioart and speculative design act in communicating the topic of bio... more How may the open-endedness of bioart and speculative design act in communicating the topic of biotechnology, and specific issues within it? The book chapter discusses the Grow Your Own… Life After Nature exhibition (2013-14) at Science Gallery Dublin, which was presented as a “synthetic biology exhibition”. Considering this explicit framing, what conception of synthetic biology (synbio) was displayed through the contributions at the exhibition? I discuss how the pieces in the exhibition relate to some institutional and corporate visions and practices of synbio, particularly in light of a conscious effort by synbio practitioners to shape public perceptions of the technologies. The framing of the exhibition may significantly influence the reception not just of the artworks but also of synbio, I posit, and conclude that the range of approaches and the open-ended nature of many of the pieces included in the exhibition imply that different visitors will interpret the exhibition, as well as the potentialities of synthetic biology, in very different ways. Book chapter in Images of Knowledge: The Epistemic Lives of Pictures and Visualizations, 2016.
Catalogue for Article biennial 2016 "New Eden"
Over the past decades, both wild and domesticated insect pollinators are in dramatic decline, whi... more Over the past decades, both wild and domesticated insect pollinators are in dramatic decline, which puts at stake the existence of species, ecosystem resilience and global food security. Globally, 87 of major food crops depend on animal pollination. Together these account for 35 % of the world food production volume. Pollinator mediated crops are indispensable for essential micronutrients in the human diet. Many ornamental plants as well as crops for fibre, fodder, biofuels, timber and phytopharmaceuticals also depend on insect pollinators. This article aims to map the current situation of pollinators worldwide, with a focus on the critical role of pollinators in the human food chain and ecosystem sustainability, their intrinsic and extrinsic value, as well as the causes of their declines and the interventions needed to conserve them, in order to develop an argument for the importance of conserving and restoring pollinator populations and diversity. The present pollinator crisis threatens global and local food security, can worsen the problems of hidden hunger, erodes ecosystem resilience, and can destabilise ecosystems that form our life support system. An integrated approach that simultaneously addresses the key drivers is needed. This includes creation and restoration of floral and nesting resources, a global phase out of prophylactic use of neonicotinoids and fipronil, improvement of test protocols in authorisation of agrochemicals, and restoration and maintenance of independence in regulatory science. The authors argue that an international treaty for global pollinator stewardship and pollinator ecosystem restoration should be initiated in order to systemically counteract the current crisis.
Living artworks created with biotechnology raise a range of ethical questions, some of which are ... more Living artworks created with biotechnology raise a range of ethical questions, some of which are unprecedented, others well known from other contexts. These questions are often discussed within the framework of bioethics, the ethics of the life sciences. The basic concern of institutionalised bioethics is to develop and implement ethical guidelines for ethically responsible handling of living material in technological and scientific contexts. Notably, discussions of ethical issues in bioart do not refer to existing discourses on art and morality from the field of aesthetics. The latter framework is primarily concerned with how the moral value of an artwork affects its artistic value. The author argues that a successful integration of these two frameworks will make possible an ethics of bioart that is adequate to its subject matter and relevant for practice. Such an integrated approach can give increased depth to under-standings of ethical issues in bioart, inspire new ways of thinking about ethics in relation to art in general and give novel impulses to bioethics and technology assessment. Artworks by the Tissue Culture and Art Project and their reception serve as the empirical starting point for connecting perspectives in art with those of bioeth-ics, developing an ethics for bioart. The author suggests that consideration of the effect of these artworks is vital in validating ethically problematical applications of biotechnology for art. It is argued that the affective, visceral qualities of living artworks may spur the audience to adjust, revise or develop their personal ethical framework.
At least since C.P. Snow’s seminal Rede lecture The Two Cultures, the idea of a significant diffe... more At least since C.P. Snow’s seminal Rede lecture The Two Cultures, the idea of a significant difference in kind between the natural sciences and the arts and humanities has been prevalent in Western culture. A gap has been perceived to exist not only in methodology and theory, but more fundamentally, in understandings and worldviews. This has resulted in a dichotomous debate both in academic and media discourses.
As a reaction to this, and parallel in time, some actors have strived to achieve a ‘third culture’. This is a common attitude in the still emerging field of ‘artscience’, whose actors seek to combine the advantages and knowledges of the sciences with those of the arts and humanities. Researchers from every concerned field have contributed to the exploration of the interface between ‘art’ and ‘science’. However, I argue in this
article that the very term artscience, in simply joining together the words ‘art’ and ’science’, is reenforcing an old notion of a binary opposition between these two fields. The idea of ‘two cultures’, still implied within the image of a ‘third culture’, disguises the plurality of perceptions and approaches within and across fields. While useful in pointing out lack of communication between fields, it tends to overemphasize divisions, ignore complexities, and, in some cases, leave out important parts of the picture. I suggest that the discourse of the ‘third culture’ and the term ‘artscience’ may jointly occlude the multiple possible constellations of practitioners, roles and approaches, and may be a potential limitation to interdisciplinary collaborations.
Book Reviews by Nora S . Vaage
Books by Nora S . Vaage
Science and religion are often viewed as dichotomies. But although our contemporary society is of... more Science and religion are often viewed as dichotomies. But although our contemporary society is often perceived as a rationalization process, we still need broad, metaphysical beliefs outside of what can be proven empirically. Rituals and symbols remain at the core of modern life. Do our concepts of science and religion require revitalization? Can science itself be considered a religion, a belief, or an ideology? Science's authority and prestige allows for little in the way of alternate approaches not founded in empirical science. It is not unusual to believe that technology and science will solve the world's fundamental problems. Has truth been colonized by science? Have scientific disciplines become so specialized and "operationally closed" that they have constructed barriers to other disciplines as well as the general public? The writers of this edited book set out to investigate whether the symbols of academia may in some cases take on a quality of sacrality, whether the rule of experts can be said to have the character of a "priesthood of knowledge", whether religion has a place in scientific contexts, and a selection of other questions concerning science and its relations to religious belief. Contributions by the editors, Gunnar Skirbekk, Cathrine Holst, Roger Strand, Ole Jacob Madsen, Ragnar Fjelland, Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Kjetil Rommetveit, Michael J. Reiss and Jeffrey C. Alexander.
The authors consider the relationship between knowledge and image, though multi-faceted, to be on... more The authors consider the relationship between knowledge and image, though multi-faceted, to be one of reciprocal dependence. But how do images carry and convey knowledge? The ambiguities of images means that interpretations do not necessarily follow the intention of the image producers. Through an array of different cases, the chapters critically reflect upon how images are mobilised and used in different knowledge practices, within certain knowledge traditions, in different historical periods. They question what we take for granted, what seems evident, what goes without saying. This approach spans across established categories such as «scientific imaging», «religious images» and «artworks», and considers how images may contribute meaning across such categories.
Conference Papers by Nora S . Vaage
The ethical, legal and social aspects of science and technology have been explored from a number ... more The ethical, legal and social aspects of science and technology have been explored from a number of perspectives, including materially through art and design. The proposed paper will discuss how ELSA research on climate change may benefit from ironic, critical and sometimes outrageous art and design manifestations of our climate present and potential futures. Debates on ethics of climate change often involves a deontological “thou shalt not” approach, while the ironical and humorous scenarios presented by artists and designers may represent an alternative, more palatable approach aimed at a different audience. The author proposes that ELSA scholars may successfully use such scenarios as tools for thinking and in engagement exercises.
There is a frequent use of analogies in understanding and relating to emerging technologies, part... more There is a frequent use of analogies in understanding and relating to emerging technologies, particularly those dealing with matters too small to be seen, even through a microscope. What shapes our understanding of the possible applications of these technologies? As is pointed out time and again, scientists need an idea of what they hope and expect to find before embarking on a grand search, like the Human Genome Project or the Human Brain Project. Likewise, policymakers rely on ideas in deciding which projects to support. And ideas are shaped by the visions, scenarios and predictions offered by more or less clear-sighted actors within different societal spheres. Some of the questions appearing again and again are: What is the most appropriate interpretation of science? Who gets to interpret it? From what perspectives do the interpretations take place? (Ihde 2009: 6) And what does the knowledge of who made the interpretation mean to the general public? Which solutions appear as more credible, and what enters the public subconscious, shaping our ideas of what may be? Are “truth-value” and credibility necessarily convergent? In this paper, these questions are explored through a discussion of how ideas of the influence of emerging technologies on our future may enter into the social consciousness. I argue that this can occur in a number of different avenues, some of which are defined as scientific, others cultural or political. The conference paper discussed four different cases: the "movement" of Transhumanism, the synthetic biology undergraduate competition iGEM, science fiction, and biological art. In relation to these cases, issues of trust, responsibility, and diverging ideas of knowledge will be considered.
How far can we extend our biological bodies in meaningful ways? Is the act of crossing human bodi... more How far can we extend our biological bodies in meaningful ways? Is the act of crossing human bodies with the bodies of non-human species still humanist, in the sense that the human dominance over other beings is asserted, or posthumanist, restoring humanity to an equal status with non-humans? And does it make a difference, conceptually, whether the resulting hybrid organism is a higher or lower life form? In taking human cells or DNA from known human individuals and crossing them with other species, some artists today are exploring these issues in embodied form. The paper will discuss two such artworks: Eduardo Kac’s Natural History of the Enigma (2003/08), featuring a hybrid petunia containing the artist’s DNA, and Benjamin Forster’s Cynicism (2013), the star component of which is a hybrid dog-human cell line. Both in process, concept and aesthetics, these artworks are very different, and as such may serve to explore the various ways in which human hybrids may be perceived as extended bodies. How do these propagations of parts of the human body fit in with the extension of the body by technology described by Haraway (1991), Hayles (1999) and others, as key to the posthuman?
Uploads
Papers by Nora S . Vaage
Images of Knowledge. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303389308_Images_of_Knowledge [accessed Aug 18, 2017].
As a reaction to this, and parallel in time, some actors have strived to achieve a ‘third culture’. This is a common attitude in the still emerging field of ‘artscience’, whose actors seek to combine the advantages and knowledges of the sciences with those of the arts and humanities. Researchers from every concerned field have contributed to the exploration of the interface between ‘art’ and ‘science’. However, I argue in this
article that the very term artscience, in simply joining together the words ‘art’ and ’science’, is reenforcing an old notion of a binary opposition between these two fields. The idea of ‘two cultures’, still implied within the image of a ‘third culture’, disguises the plurality of perceptions and approaches within and across fields. While useful in pointing out lack of communication between fields, it tends to overemphasize divisions, ignore complexities, and, in some cases, leave out important parts of the picture. I suggest that the discourse of the ‘third culture’ and the term ‘artscience’ may jointly occlude the multiple possible constellations of practitioners, roles and approaches, and may be a potential limitation to interdisciplinary collaborations.
Book Reviews by Nora S . Vaage
Books by Nora S . Vaage
Conference Papers by Nora S . Vaage
Images of Knowledge. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303389308_Images_of_Knowledge [accessed Aug 18, 2017].
As a reaction to this, and parallel in time, some actors have strived to achieve a ‘third culture’. This is a common attitude in the still emerging field of ‘artscience’, whose actors seek to combine the advantages and knowledges of the sciences with those of the arts and humanities. Researchers from every concerned field have contributed to the exploration of the interface between ‘art’ and ‘science’. However, I argue in this
article that the very term artscience, in simply joining together the words ‘art’ and ’science’, is reenforcing an old notion of a binary opposition between these two fields. The idea of ‘two cultures’, still implied within the image of a ‘third culture’, disguises the plurality of perceptions and approaches within and across fields. While useful in pointing out lack of communication between fields, it tends to overemphasize divisions, ignore complexities, and, in some cases, leave out important parts of the picture. I suggest that the discourse of the ‘third culture’ and the term ‘artscience’ may jointly occlude the multiple possible constellations of practitioners, roles and approaches, and may be a potential limitation to interdisciplinary collaborations.
The conference paper discusses how the reasons and ideas artists have for engaging with biology differ from those of DIY biologists and biohackers (keeping in mind that there is a range of opinions within each group), as well as what they have in common. I argue that there are perceived differences in motivations, which can be traced back to the actors’ different backgrounds, terminologies and audiences, and which shape their respective practices, although the borders between these approaches are not at all distinct.