Massimiliano Simons: Synthetic biology as a technoscience

Join the Rotman Institute of Philosophy Synthetic Biology Reading Group for a meeting with Massimiliano Simons for a discussion of his 2021 paper, “Synthetic biology as a technoscience: The case of minimal genomes and essential genes. Reading: Massimiliano Simons, Synthetic biology as a technoscience: The case of minimal genomes and essential genes, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A,Volume 85, 2021, Pages 127-136, ISSN 0039-3681, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2020.09.012.

This article examines how minimal genome research mobilizes philosophical concepts such as minimality and essentiality. Following a historical approach, the article aims to uncover what function this terminology plays and which problems are raised by them.