Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Center for Science and the Imagination, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2018 Aug;24(4):1143-1159. doi: 10.1007/s11948-017-9936-9. Epub 2017 Jun 26.
As one of the best known science narratives about the consequences of creating life, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is an enduring tale that people know and understand with an almost instinctive familiarity. It has become a myth reflecting people's ambivalent feelings about emerging science: they are curious about science, but they are also afraid of what science can do to them. In this essay, we argue that the Frankenstein myth has evolved into a stigma attached to scientists that focalizes the public's as well as the scientific community's negative reactions towards certain sciences and scientific practices. This stigma produces ambivalent reactions towards scientific artifacts and it leads to negative connotations because it implies that some sciences are dangerous and harmful. We argue that understanding the Frankenstein stigma can empower scientists by helping them revisit their own biases as well as responding effectively to people's expectations for, and attitudes towards, scientists and scientific artifacts. Debunking the Frankenstein stigma could also allow scientists to reshape their professional identities so they can better show the public what ethical and moral values guide their research enterprises.
作为关于创造生命后果的最著名的科学叙事之一，玛丽·雪莱的《弗兰肯斯坦；或现代普罗米修斯》（1818 年）是一个人们几乎本能地熟悉的持久故事。它已经成为一个反映人们对新兴科学矛盾心理的神话：他们对科学感到好奇，但也担心科学会对他们造成什么影响。在本文中，我们认为弗兰肯斯坦神话已经演变成一种科学家的耻辱，集中体现了公众和科学界对某些科学和科学实践的负面反应。这种耻辱对科学制品产生了矛盾的反应，因为它暗示某些科学是危险和有害的，从而产生了负面的含义。我们认为，理解弗兰肯斯坦耻辱可以通过帮助科学家重新审视自己的偏见，并有效地回应人们对科学家和科学制品的期望和态度，从而赋予科学家权力。揭穿弗兰肯斯坦耻辱也可以让科学家重塑他们的职业身份，以便更好地向公众展示哪些道德和价值观指导他们的研究事业。
