Journal of Lutheran Ethics

The Journal of Lutheran Ethics is a monthly online journal, published by the Department for Studies for the Church in Society unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. The journal touts itself as “a bridge between the academic study of Christian ethics and the contemporary life of the Church” and “a meeting place for scholars and professors, seminary and college students, pastors and bishops, and theologically informed lay leaders.” The journal is important to the study of nanotechnology in society because it was the first major religious journal to dedicate an entire issue to nanotechnology. Titled “Reflections on Nanotechnology,” the February 2006 issue included four articles written by five academics offering brief commentaries on the ethical, social, and theological implications of nanotechnology.

The special issue opens with “Nanoethics: General Principles and Christian Discourse” by two authors from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, Mette Ebbesen, a Ph.D. student at the Center for Bioethics, and Svend Andersen, Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Religion. In the article Ebbesen and Andersen explore the difference between Christian and secular ethics as they pertain [Page 377]to nanotechnology, arguing that Christians should both strive to protect the secular ethical values of autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice, and continue to participate in the more overtly Christian discourse over nanotechnology's potential for transgressing natural human limitations. The second article, “The Alchemy of Nanotechnology,” is written by Noreen Herzfeld, Professor of Theology and Computer Science at St. John's University. Herzfeld analyzes the writings of people like Drexler, Kurzweil, and Rejeski to show how many of the goals of alchemy and nanotechnology are actually quite similar—including the perfection of materials and everlasting life—but subtly warns that without moderation and careful reflection, pursuing these goals may have a significant downside.

The third article, “The Ethics of Nanotechnology: A Lutheran Reflection,” was contributed by Thomas D. Pearson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas-Pan American. Like the other authors in the volume, Pearson firmly believes that there is an important role for Christian thought in the debates about nanotechnology, but stresses that those who engage must first become familiar with not only the technical details, but also the social implications before tackling the most difficult metaphysical questions. The final article was written by Gayle Woloschak, Professor of Radiology at Northwestern University. This article provides readers with a brief overview of nanotechnology's technical specifics, focusing on the significance of nanoscale processes and their implications for a variety of technological fields.

Overall, these authors demonstrate a familiarity with both the general status of nanotechnology research and development, and the public discourses that have arisen in response to its ethical implications. The articles indicate that participants in the Lutheran intellectual community are generating a discourse among themselves regarding the ramifications of certain technological applications and are both concerned and hopeful about the potential societal outcomes that nanotechnology may engender. The authors make it clear that there is no unilateral consensus among Lutherans as to the moral status of nanotechnology as a whole. They neither call for the total rejection of future nanotechnology applications nor advocate a completely supportive stance for its possible benefits. Rather, they each provide a brief overview of nanotechnology, outline some of its potential benefits and risks, and then proceed to discuss possible Lutheran modes of thinking about these. The special issue thus serves to both introduce nanotechnology to the Lutheran community and to provide starting points for ethical and theological reflection to community members who are interested in these issues. In many ways these articles reflect some of the basic hopes and concerns voiced by the public in discussions about nanotechnology, and even hint at the type of upstream engagement that many social scientists are calling for in the governance of nanotechnology.

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