Moral Issues in the Natural Sciences and Technologies Published by AOSIS (Pty) Ltd, 15 Oxford Street, Durbanville 7550, Cape Town, South Africa Postnet Suite #110, Private Bag X19, Durbanville 7551, South Africa Tel: +27 21 975 2602 Fax: +27 21 975 4635 Email: info@aosis.co.za Website: https://www.aosis.co.za Copyright © Jurie van den Heever & Chris Jones (eds.). Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd The moral right of the author has been asserted. Cover image: Original design created with the use of images released under the iStock License. The image is https://www.istockphoto.com/za/vector/word-cloud-ethics- gm538349124-95709327 Published in 2019 Impression: 1 ISBN: 978-1-928396-83-3 (print) ISBN: 978-1-928396-84-0 (ebook) ISBN: 978-1-928396-85-7 (pdf) DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2019.BK114 How to cite this work: Van den Heever, J. & Jones, C. (eds.), 2019, Moral Issues in the Natural Sciences and Technologies , pp. i–265, AOSIS, Cape Town. Printed and bound in South Africa. 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Edited by: Jurie van den Heever Chris Jones Moral Issues in the Natural Sciences and Technologies Social Sciences, Humanities, Education & Business Management domain editorial board at AOSIS Commissioning Editor: Scholarly Books Andries van Aarde, Post-Retirement Professor, Dean’s Office, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Board Members Jan Botha, Professor, Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Joan Hambidge, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Professor, School of Languages and Literatures, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Sakari Häkkinen, Dean, The Diocese of Kuopio, Finland Glenna Jackson, Associate Editor, Professor Chair, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH, United States of America Gregory C. Jenkins, Dean-elect, St George’s College, Jerusalem, Israel Reina-Marie Loader, Director and Filmmaker, CinémaHumain, Vienna, Austria Babita Marthur-Helm, Senior Lecturer, Organisational Transformation & Development; Managing Diversity Gender Empowerment, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa Christopher Mbazira, Professor of Law & Coordinator of the Public Interest Law Clinic, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Piet Naudé, Professor, Ethics related to politics, economics and business, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa; Director, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch, South Africa Charles Neill, Professor Department of Business Administration, The British University in Egypt, El Sherouk, Cairo Governorate, Egypt Cornelia Pop, Full professor, Department of Business, Faculty of Business, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Michael Schratz, Professor, Institute of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Dean, School of Education, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria Johann Tempelhoff, Extraordinary Professor, South African Water History Archival Repository (SAWHAR), Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Anthony Turton, Professor, Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Director, TouchStone Resources, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Willie L. van der Merwe, Professor & Chair, Philosophy of Religion, Apologetics and Encyclopaedia of Theology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; Professor Extraordinary, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Christi van der Westhuizen, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Joke van Saane, Professor, Amsterdam Center for the Study of Lived Religion, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Paul van Tongeren, Professor, Department Philosophy, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Robert G. Varady, Deputy Director and Research Professor, Environmental Policy, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America Anné H. Verhoef, Associate Editor, Professor, Faculty of Arts: School of Philosophy, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Xiao Yun Zheng, Professor & Assistant President, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS); and Director, International Center for Ecological Culture Studies (ICECS-YASS), Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming City, China Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African ‘National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books’. The manuscript was subjected to a rigorous two-step peer review prior to publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher and/or authors in question. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the manuscript should be published. Where the reviewers recommended revision and/or improvements to the manuscript, the authors responded adequately to such recommendations. Research Justification This book reflects academically on important and relevant natural scientific disciplines, important technologies and related media to determine and communicate the moral issues and challenges within those specific fields of study, and how to deal with them morally and from a multidimensional South African context. It aims to add scientific, technological and ethical value, locally and globally, by reflecting mainly from the viewpoint of specific scholars, writing about the most pressing moral issues or challenges raised by problems within their specific field of study. It is written mainly from a qualitative methodological perspective, including autobiographical and participatory views. The co-authors present in respective chapters their research systematically and intersectionally, based on profound theoretical analysis and reasoning. Current research in the basic and implied sciences and technologies requires sound ethical practice based on a defensible moral stance. Moral norms, in our view, are deeply grounded and evolved convictions about justice and injustice, right and wrong, good and bad. It is not about rules. This scholarly book combines the insights and expertise of established South African scholars from different disciplines and backgrounds. The contributors are all deeply committed to the value and validity of science and ethical practice across the moral spectrum. Open and responsible discussions around this topic can lead to the introduction of moral guidelines and regulations to protect the rights of individuals, animals and the environment, while simultaneously facilitating the growth of scientific practice. This collected work, with its very specific and carefully selected grouping of academic fields, aims to innovatively assist in alleviating the shortage of academic publications reflecting on the moral issues in these specific fields. Its target audience includes international scholars, peers, researchers and educators with an interest in the specific fields covered in this volume. As an open access publication, this book is meant to assist in countering the high costs of Western academic publications and directly benefit scholars in Africa. We can confirm that all the chapters are based on original research and that no part of the book was plagiarised from another publication or published elsewhere. Jurie van den Heever , Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Chris Jones, Unit for Moral Leadership, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa. vii Contents Abbreviations and Table Appearing in the Text xiii List of Abbreviations xiii List of Tables xv Notes on Contributors xvii Preface xix Chapter 1: The evolution of morality 1 Jurie van den Heever & Chris Jones Introduction 1 Discussion 6 The voyager returns 6 Palaeontological perspectives 14 Neontological perspectives 17 Conclusion 24 Chapter 2: Modern human origins and decolonisation in South Africa 27 Sarah Wurz Introduction 27 The development of ‘modern humans’ ( Homo sapiens ) 30 ‘Modern’ behaviour 34 Modern human origins, identity and ethics 39 Conclusion 43 Chapter 3: The neuroscience of morality 45 Dawie van den Heever Introduction 45 Free will 47 Contents viii Case studies 52 In the laboratory 55 Moral dilemmas 58 Lessons from home 62 Conclusion 64 Chapter 4: Ecology and morality: Transforming the non-human into connectedness with nature 67 Dave Pepler Introduction 68 Prehistory to the middle ages 68 The middle ages to the 1950s 71 The modern (current) era 75 Morality of ecology 78 Case studies 79 Case study one: The Mapuche cosmology 80 Case study two: The bee whisperer on Mount Elgon 81 Case study three: A personal encounter with a wild gorilla 82 Conclusion 83 Acknowledgement 84 Chapter 5: We can, but should we? The ethics of genetically modified food 85 Johan Burger Introduction 85 The global food crisis 87 A brief history of genetically modified food 88 Genetically modified food – the issues 93 Harm to human and animal health 94 Harm to the environment and impact on traditional farming practices 97 Corporate dominance over food supplies 99 The unnaturalness of genetic engineering 99 Contents ix Moral dilemma or moral imperative? 102 The future of genetically modified food 106 Conclusion 109 Chapter 6: The changing landscape of human genetics and genomics: A personal journey of enlightenment spanning three decades 111 Himla Soodyall Introduction 112 Handling of blood specimens to prenatal diagnosis 113 The responsibility of scientists and being a responsible scientist 116 Rights to health care: How are we fairing in our new democracy? 119 One small edit for human, one giant edit for humankind? 122 Reconceptualising harms and benefits in the genomic age 125 How can we end the exploitation of vulnerable communities? 128 On the issues of ‘race’ and discrimination 130 Conclusion 132 Chapter 7: Biotechnology and ethical controversies 135 Anita Kleinsmidt Introduction 135 Precision medicine 136 Data sharing in precision medicine 139 Animals and biotechnology 140 Transgenic animals 141 Human enhancement 142 Gene editing 142 Non-therapeutic human enhancement 144 Germline gene editing 144 Transhumanists 145 Is it ethical to select for disability 145 Contents x Stem cell research 146 Biohacking 147 Conclusion 149 Chapter 8: The threat and promise of artificial morality 151 Hendrik Boshoff & Louise du Toit Introduction 151 An ancient dream 153 Artificial Intelligence and cybernetics 155 Human responses to machine intelligence 160 Artificial morality 164 Conclusion 175 Chapter 9: Can Cyberspace potentially harm democracy and world stability? 177 Basie von Solms Introduction 177 Some technical background 179 Defining a few concepts 179 The Internet 179 The World Wide Web 180 Websites 180 Search Engines 181 Cyberspace 181 Social networks 183 Fake news and data misuse 186 Hacking of personal, corporate and government data 187 Biometrics and personal privacy 188 Intellectual property and university research 190 Economic cybercrime 191 The direct theft of US$ 81 million from a bank in Bangladesh 191 Contents xi The Target hack 191 Education 192 Cyberwarfare, cyber espionage and terrorist activities 193 The Internet of Things 195 Moral issues resulting from the discussion above 196 Chapter 10: Science, morality and the media: Complicity in spreading pseudoscience, or watchdog of the public? 199 George Claassen Introduction 199 Moral responsibility and journalists’ reporting 201 Fairness and balance in journalism – And the need for evidence 203 A number of essentials: What every science journalist should know about science 204 Understanding the difference between textbook science and frontier science 204 The question of balance, fairness and evidence 205 Understanding risks and benefits 208 Accentuating the positive and ignoring the negative 208 Anecdotes are not reliable data 209 Always use the primary source first 210 Science works with uncertainty 211 Beware of conflict of interest 213 Avoid offering misleading or harmful tips not based on sufficient scientific evidence 214 The difference between science and pseudoscience 214 Conclusion 215 References 219 Index 253 xiii Abbreviations and Table Appearing in the Text List of Abbreviations AAAI Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence AGI Artificial General Intelligence AI Artificial Intelligence AI100 One Hundred Years of Artificial Intelligence AMA Artificial Moral Agent ASI Artificial Special Intelligence ASSAf Academy of Science of South Africa ATM Automatic Teller Machines BREXIT British Exit from the European Union bt Bacillus thuringiensis CAPS Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement Cas9 CRISPR-associated Nuclease 9 CDs Congenital Disorders CENSCOM Centre for Science & Technology Mass Communication CRISPR Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats DIY Do It Yourself DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid DST Decision Support Tools EEG Electroencephalography EICOS European Initiative for Communicators of Science ELSI Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications ESHG European Society of Human Genetics ESHRE European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology EU European Union Abbreviations and Table Appearing in the Text xiv FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FDA Food and Drug Administration FLK Funny Looking Kid fMRI Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging GDoH Gauteng Department of Health GE Genetic Engineering GINA Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act GM Genetically Modified GMO Genetically Modified Organisms HGP Human Genome Project ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICT Information and Communications Technology IP Intellectual Property IRB Institutional Review Board IT Information Technology IVF In Vitro Fertilisation LSD Lysergic Acid Diethylamide MASA Medical Association of South Africa MEC Member of Executive Council ms Millisecond MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging MSA Middle Stone Age NGO Non-government Organisation NHA National Health Act NHLS National Health Laboratory Service NRF National Research Foundation OBE Outcome Based Education OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development RNA Ribonucleic Acid RP Readiness Potential R.U.R. Rossum’s Universal Robots Abbreviations and Table Appearing in the Text xv SADF South African Defence Force SAIMR South African Institute for Medical Research SAMDC South African Medical and Dental Council SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE) SWAPO South West African People’s Organisation TT Turing Test US United States USA United States of America USDA United States Department of Agriculture WAC World Archaeological Congress WEF World Economic Forum WHA World Health Assembly WHO World Health Organization WWW World Wide Web WWF World Wildlife Fund YASS Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences List of Table Table 10.1: Coker’s distinction between science and psuedoscience. 216 xvii Notes on Contributors Hendrik Boshoff Swirl Design (Pty) Ltd., Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: hendrikb@webafrica.org.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8910-6028 Johan Burger Department of Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: jtb@sun.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0693-7315 George Claassen Centre for Science and Technology Mass Communication (CENSCOM), Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: george.claassen@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6734-8162 Louise du Toit Department of Philosophy, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: louisedt@sun.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7983-6534 Chris Jones Unit for Moral Leadership, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: chrisjones@sun.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9483-5337 Anita Kleinsmidt Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: akleinsmidt@sun.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0125-7804 Notes on Contributors xviii Dave Pepler Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: oempie@iafrica.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4112-3264 Basie von Solms Centre for Cyber Security, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa Email: basievs@uj.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3586-6632 Himla Soodyall Division of Human Genetics, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand and National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Academy of Science of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Email: hxsood@global.co.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2488-9185 Dawie van den Heever Biomedical Engineering Research Group, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: dawie@sun.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9540-6016 Jurie van den Heever Faculty of Science, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: therapsida@axxess.co.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4858-4485 Sarah Wurz School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapiensCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Email: Sarah.Wurz@wits.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0949-5391 xix Preface Jurie van den Heever Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Chris Jones Unit for Moral Leadership, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa This book looks at different natural scientific disciplines, important technologies and related media to determine and communicate the moral issues or challenges within those specific fields of study, how to deal with them, and/or moral issues as foreseen that will be wrestled with in the near future. Therefore, the book is written mainly from the viewpoint of a specific scholar(s) writing about the (general) moral issues or challenges raised by problems within his or her (their) specific field of study. Current research in the basic and implied sciences and technologies requires sound ethical practice based on a defensible moral stance. Moral norms in our view are not rules but deeply grounded and evolved convictions about justice and injustice, right and wrong, good and bad. This book combines the insights of established South African scholars from different disciplines and backgrounds and will challenge in certain respects conventional moral boundaries. The contributors are all deeply committed to the value and validity of science and ethical practice across the moral spectrum. Scientific and technological advancement in many fields often outpaces moral reflection and analysis. Open and responsible discussions around this topic can How to cite: Van den Heever, J. & Jones, C., 2019, ‘Preface’, in J. Van den Heever & C. Jones (eds.), Moral Issues in the Natural Sciences and Technologies , pp. xix-xxix, AOSIS, Cape Town. https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2019.BK114.00