생명산업 시대의 신학적 생명 : CRISPR 기술을 중심으로

Abstract

‘Synthetic Biology’ is a genome editing practice that endeavors to produce new life forms. The CRISPR-cas9 is a new technique that amount to a set of Genetic Scissors, the most advanced technology in the Synthetic biology fields, outpaces other genetic technologies because it has the accuracy and economical potential. The advent of the synthetic biology era has raised a wide range of questions, including ‘what is life’, and what relationship is there between ‘life’ associated with the ‘economic approach’ and life that is already happening. The moral challenge of synthetic biology is not a matter that should be discussed only in science and technology or social sciences, but it is a problem to be discussed in our Christian theology which is concerned with ‘life’ and eternal life from a religious perspective. Therefore, this paper explains in detail the CRISPR technology, which greatly improved synthetic biology as a whole, and then discusses the social, economic, and cognitive changes that synthetic biology has undergone and the theological questions that can be raised through synthetic biology.BR Furthermore, I would like to focus on Georgio Agamben’s life politics and life-ruling thought as an answer to the question of the definition of life. Agamben has divided human life largely into Zoe and Bios, and has focused on social and political life beyond simple biological life. The human endeavor to gain control over life has been ongoing since the beginning of human history, he says. Agamben further asserts that the notion of sovereign power over life has sometimes shifted from killing life to sustaining life. The modern politics of sovereign power operates in a way to promote the survival of people within the system, not just to threaten and kill them. In the end, mankind is not living on his/her own, but living a life that is totally dependent on the sovereign power. Therefore, considering CRISPR technology as an extension of this life rule, the technology of synthetic biology is not an entirely positive development. Human progress in the scientific world tells us that we are governed by capital and sovereign power. Therefore, this paper tries to reconsider this CRISPR technique from the theological point of view, and to reveal the violence of life politics hidden behind the optimistic view of science.