@article{227b680429d343a782d1bcb980725a0c,
title = "Why Frankenstein is a Stigma Among Scientists",
abstract = "As one of the best known science narratives about the consequences of creating life, Mary Shelley{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright}s as well as the scientific community{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright}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.",
keywords = "Frankenstein, Identity, Science communication, Science narratives, Science-fiction, Stigma",
author = "Peter Nagy and Ruth Wylie and Joey Eschrich and Edward Finn",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements We would like to thank Phil Weaver-Stoesz, the editors and the anonymous reviewers at Science and Engineering Ethics for their guidance and thoughtful comments regarding our work. We also would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Center for Science and the Imagination; and King Coffee in Tempe, Arizona. Funding Information: Besides personal stories, scientists can also use science fiction stories or science novels as tools to facilitate dialogue with the public, and to change the way people imagine the scientist{\textquoteright}s work (Kitzinger 2010). In this sense, using science fiction stories to replace the Frankenstein narrative with more constructive alternatives could allow scientists to better clarify and disentangle science and technology issues, to clear up potential misunderstandings, and to provide more information about their ethical and moral scientific considerations (Link 2013). For instance, the recent book Science Fiction by Scientists: An Anthology of Short Stories, edited by Michael Brotherton (2016), offers a wide range of speculative stories to challenge former stereotypes and facilitate discussion about the role of science and scientists. Featuring afterwords and commentaries by the authors, this collection also allows readers to learn more about how scientists think and create. Additionally, The Science & Entertainment Exchange Program, funded by the National Academy of Funding Information: Funding This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1516684. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V.",
year = "2018",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s11948-017-9936-9",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "24",
pages = "1143--1159",
journal = "Science and engineering ethics",
issn = "1353-3452",
publisher = "Springer Netherlands",
number = "4",
}