5 QUESTIONS — A UTOPIAN SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FUTURE

Year 2020 — The Anthroposophists are at the scientific forefront in Synthetic Biology.

This short narrative explores glimpses of a possible future for Synthetic Biology, enabled by an uncanny paradigm shift. The fictional interview, in the classic “5 Questions” style, narrates a conversation between Swiss journalist Sophie Lieberman and the Head of the Anthroposophist Society in Redwood, California, Richard Steinbecker. The value system of the Anthroposophic society—formerly anti-technology and naturalistic—now fully embraces Synthetic Biology.

Its new members, eager to design the world synthetically, aim to increase membership by tailoring nature to align with the holistic mindset of the Anthroposophical Society. Mr Steinbecker explains and demonstrates examples of how Synthetic Biology has been integrated into the Anthroposophist children’s teaching curriculum. The aim of this film is to demonstrate a collision between two seemingly disparate ideologies and to explore the motives or influences that could bend the Anthroposophists’ beliefs towards technocracy.

The seemingly holistic worldview of Anthroposophists is—despite its good intentions—still guided and dominated by anthropocentric thought. From this perspective, there are similarities between Anthroposophy and the guiding principles under which Synthetic Biology is currently being developed. The film raises questions about how far people would go and how morally flexible they might become in justifying their anthropocentric belief system.

INFO & CREDITS
Year of creation: 2010
Scientific advisers from the Synthetic Biology Department, Imperial College of London
Voice over by Charlotte Jarvis and J. Paul Neeley