Sarah R. Davies
‘All things weird and scary’: Nanotechnology, theology, and cultural resources
Davies, Sarah R.; Kearnes, Matthew; Macnaghten, Phil M.
Authors
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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Copyright Statement
This is an electronic version of an article published in Davies, Sarah R. and Kearnes, Matthew and Macnaghten, Phil (2009) '‘All things weird and scary’ : nanotechnology, theology, and cultural resources.', Culture and religion., 10 (2). pp. 201-220.
Culture and religion is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/14755610903077570
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