Peter Kunzmann, Nikolaus Knoepffler, Primates. Their moral status. The legal and moral status of primates has considerably improved in recent years. What is the reason for this new assessment? What contribution is made by the ethical arguments on which it is based? Is it their similarity to people which makes primates so special in the animal world? Or should we no longer treat them as animals from an ethical point of view, but as people? The study’s arguments are based on the unique skills and characteristics which make primates so special. According to the study, this justifies their moral status and dignity, which must prove its worth in view of the new possibilities of technical interventions.

Arianna Ferrari, Christopher Coenen, Armin Grunwald, Arnold Sauter, Animal Enhancement. New technical opportunities and ethical issues. The current intense debate on the ethical aspects of ‘human enhancement’ also throws new light on the scientific and technical ‘enhancement’ of animals. Admittedly, ‘animal enhancement’ is in many respects a well-known phenomenon.

Bernard Baertschi. La vie artificielle. Le statut moral des êtres vivants artificiels. What moral status do artificial living beings have? The question of the moral status of each individual living organism is of central importance, as this gives us a basis for determining how we should treat that particular living organism and what moral boundaries we are set in relation to its use.

[Translate to English:] Joachim Boldt, Oliver Müller, Giovanni Maio, Synthetische Biologie - Eine ethisch-philosophische Analyse, Similar to physics and chemistry, the aim of synthetic biology is not only to analyse but also to create and recreate the objects it deals with. In this newly established field of research, the vision of creating new single-cell life forms opens up the technical possibilities of producing living things. This book investigates the possible consequences of our understanding of life and our relationship to life.

Benjamin Rath, Ethik des Risikos - Begriffe, Situationen, Entscheidungstheorien und Aspekte,Risk Ethics is concerned with the ethical valuation of decisions on how to act in risk situations; that is to say, decisions which involve an element of risk when put into practice. To what risks may a person expose themselves or others?

Andreas Brenner, Leben - Eine philosophische Untersuchung. Andreas Brenner considers the question “What is life?” from a philosophical perspective. To set the framework for a response, it is first shown why this question is so difficult to answer, and why the so‑called life sciences contribute little to its elucidation.

Jürg Stöcklin, Die Pflanze - Moderne Konzepte der Biologie. This volume deals with plants, and how they differ from animals, from the perspective of modern biology. Swiss legislation calls for the dignity of living beings to be respected in the case of plants as well as animals. While there are certain indications as to what the dignity of animals consists in, the question arises: in virtue of what properties could dignity be ascribed to plants?

Andreas Bachmann, Nanobiotechnologie - Eine ethische Auslegeordnung. The aims of this discipline are twofold: to apply nanotechnological developments in the life sciences (“Nano2Bio”) and to use biological materials and designs to produce technical nanosystems (“Bio2Nano”). After some preliminary remarks on nanotechnology in general, the first part of the review highlights the enormous potential of nanobiotechnology with reference to (possible) applications in biomimicry, medicine, agriculture and nutrition (“nanofood”).