The Institute of Unnecessary Research
From early childhood Ellen was fascinated by the mysteries of life and the way we make sense of it. She studied medical biology and philosophy in Amsterdam and did a PhD in bio-philosophy at the Radboud University Nijmegen on the genetically engineered mouse, who, according to Ellen, is a true Biotech Pioneer. Every biotechnology that will be applied to man will first be tested on mice.
The biotech revolution that is taking place right now raises a number of questions that are food for thought to bio-philosophers like Ellen. What’s life? What is ‘natural’? What is it like to be genetically engineered? And last, but not least, what do we mean when we say that ‘ethical’ boundaries are crossed in the lab? These questions challenge both natural scientist and scholars form the humanities. And it is there, where debates on issues of life in 21st century take place, were the Two Cultures have to meet.
Finding means to bridge the gap between the two cultures is the quest for the philosophers of science and the bio-ethicists. How to make sense of organisms that live at the frontier of science, high tech processes, scientific images and data when the only tools available are thought and language?
The answer can be found at the Institute for unnecessary research.
Currently Ellen works as an independent scholar, lecturer and consultant. She teaches bioethics at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
www.rtodto.com (sorry at present only in Dutch)
Head of Ethics - Ellen Ter Gast
What’s life? What is ‘natural’? What is it like to be genetically engineered? And last, but not least, what do we mean when we say that ‘ethical’ boundaries are crossed in the lab?
