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‘All things weird and scary’: Nanotechnology, theology, and cultural resources

Davies, Sarah R.; Kearnes, Matthew; Macnaghten, Phil M.

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Authors

Sarah R. Davies

Matthew Kearnes

Phil M. Macnaghten



Abstract

Nanotechnology is widely suggested to be fast becoming a defining technology of the twenty-first century. This 'science of the very small' has applications in areas from medicine to materials, and is predicted to have profound effects on social life. In this paper, we draw on a study of lay people's reflections on the ethics of nanotechnologies to focus on the talk of one group of participants, from a UK church. While we identify key themes which are common across all participants, including nanotechnology as a threat to the human, the importance of individual autonomy, and distrust of the large-scale drivers behind the technology, we argue that the church-going group have a specific set of cultural resources with which to articulate responses to these. Using a language of spirituality and relationality these participants are able to express shared notions of what nanotechnology threatens (and promises), and can therefore be seen as exemplary of lay negotiations of these issues.

Citation

Davies, S. R., Kearnes, M., & Macnaghten, P. M. (2009). ‘All things weird and scary’: Nanotechnology, theology, and cultural resources. Culture and Religion, 10(2), 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610903077570

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jul 29, 2009
Deposit Date Feb 4, 2010
Publicly Available Date May 25, 2011
Journal Culture and Religion
Print ISSN 1475-5610
Electronic ISSN 1475-5629
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 2
Pages 201-220
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610903077570
Keywords Nanotechnology, Religion, Science, Lay talk.

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