ArticleFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology2025
Analysis of the intrinsic value of life in the context of synthetic biology.
Article in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Functions and optimization of soft law in the international governance of synthetic biology: The predicament of hard law vs. the rise of soft law.Synthetic and systems biotechnology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
The ongoing advancements in synthetic biology, employing either "bottom-up" or "top-down" approaches to construct synthetic life, are generating significant interest. However, the broad application of these scientific practices remains fraught with ethical controversies. Thus, investigating the intrinsic value associated with synthetic life is crucial for determining whether and how synthetic life should be constructed and utilized. This study draws upon and extends Ronald Sandler's theory of intrinsic value, analyzing the intrinsic subjective value of synthetic life from the perspectives of ecocentrism, human culture, and the structural properties of synthetic life itself. It examines the intrinsic objective value of synthetic life based on its natural purposes. Additionally, the study explores the inherent worth of synthetic life from three angles: biology, subjectivity, and relationships with human beings. We conclude that the intrinsic value of synthetic life increases sequentially from synthetic microorganisms to synthetic plants, synthetic invertebrates, synthetic vertebrates, and synthetic humans. All forms of synthetic life possess intrinsic subjective and objective value. However, only synthetic life above the grade of synthetic microorganisms has inherent worth; thus, humans have moral obligations towards them.
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