Table 1.
The relationship between emerging technologies and key symbolic concepts
| Scientific and technological development | Key symbolic concept | Expansion or reduction of key concept |
|---|---|---|
| Brain-machine interaction | Body / physical integrity | Technology as integrated component of the body |
| Person | Person extends beyond the body (remote control, avatars) | |
| Robot (machine as ‘autonomic’ actor) | ||
| Ambient Intelligence / Persuasive technology | Actor | Machine as responsible actor, or rather, human in interaction with technology as actor |
| Molecular medicine | Healthy or sick | Illness as a molecular process that may vary for each individual |
| Non-sick patient | ||
| Synthetic biology | Living and non-living | Life as an information-processing system (reduction) |
| Material and informational | Copying life on the basis of a code | |
| Natural and artificial | New forms of life |