title: [From synthetic biology to synthetic humankind].
abstract: In this paper, we propose an historical survey of the expression "synthetic biology" in order to identify its main philosophical components. The result of the analysis is then used to investigate the meaning of the notion of "synthetic man". It is shown that both notions share a common philosophical background that can be summed up by the short but meaningful assertion: "biology is technology". The analysis allows us to distinguish two notions that are often confused in transhumanist literature: the notion of synthetic man and the notion of renewed man. The consequences of this crucial distinction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'éthique contemporaine, département de philosophie, université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier, France; Centre de recherche Saint-Charles, laboratoire Epsylon, 1, rue du Docteur-Henri-Serre, 34000 Montpellier, France. Electronic address: pascal.nouvel@paulvalery.eu.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nouvel
mesh_terms: D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D010684:Philosophy; D058615:Synthetic Biology; D013672:Technology
keywords: Biologie; Biologie synthétique; Biology; Synthetic biology; Transhumanism; Transhumanisme