Rational Engineering Principles in Synthetic Biology: A Framework for Quantitative Analysis and an Initial Assessment

Synthetic Biology as Late-Modern Technology

“…He suggests a strategy based on the traditional classic-modern view of engineering and therefore envisions a prototype of the paradigm of "rational engineering": (a) "standardization," (b) "decoupling," and (c) "abstraction" (Endy 2005;cf. von Gleich et al 2012;Giese et al 2013). Endy's view can probably be called anachronistic, since present-day systems and structural sciences underline the strong dependency of the new kind of technology on biomaterial and living matter: In synthetic biology there is no escape from self-organization, instability, and complexity.…”

“…Nature is seen as the perfect problem solver; as being much more efficient and effective than any action of a classic engineer following the ideal of rational design or rational construction (cf. Giese et al 2013). Latemodern technology appears to act by itself: It creates, designs and produces (a., productivity concept of self-organization); it selects means to ends and follows a means-ends rationality (b., optimization concept); and it takes decisions and acts according to its environmental requirements (c., adaptivity concept).…”

“…It can be convincingly argued that traditional "rational design" approaches in engineering and technology, which are typically based on assumptions of stability, 41 have their limitations in the late-modern field of technology (cf. Giese et al 2013;Nordmann 2008). 42 Therefore, reasonable concerns can be raised as to whether "synthetic biology will enable the design of 'biological systems' in a rational and systematic way," as the EU-NEST High-Level Expert Group on emerging technologies claims (European Commission 2005, 5).…”

“…At the same time, it has to be conceded that framing "synthetic biology" from this angle addresses the visionary programs more than the current state-of-the-art. Synthetic biology is, indeed, still in its infancy; it is not clear whether an engineering approach of this kind is even feasible, particularly to the extent of control oriented "rational design" or "rational engineering," or whether it carries an inherent dialectic, conflict, or even self-contradiction (Giese et al 2013). Should a technology based on self-organization ever be attained and implemented, we would enter a new era of technology in which technical systems possessed high levels of autonomy and agency properties.…”

Synthetic Biology at the Limits of Science

“…Similarly, the aspirations of synthetic biology are often judged in these terms: Can the "synthesis" of biological structures or processes proceed in a planned, deliberate, theory-and evidence-based manner such that the intended outcome issues as if from a blueprint (Giese et al 2013, O'Malley 2009, Gramelsberger 2013, Lewens 2013? And, if this is not the case, is this only "not yet" the case, likely to become possible in just a few more years, or does it owe to a disciplinary style of doing things -with chemists seeking rational control while bioengineers are more comfortable with tinkering?…”