Jan Schnalke

Der logische Atomismus postuliert die Existenz unanalysierbarer Elemente, die durch einfache Zeichen repräsentiert werden und die Grundbausteine für wahrheitsfähige Sätze bilden. In dieser Untersuchung wird die Position des logischen Atomismus näher beleuchtet, indem gezeigt wird, dass sich ihre grundlegenden Annahmen bereits in Platons Theaithetos finden lassen und später von Wittgenstein weiter ausgebaut werden. Für den logischen Atomismus spricht, dass durch das Postulat logischer Atome gewährleistet wird, dass wahrheitsfähige Sätze in der Wirklichkeit fundiert sind. Dennoch lässt sich durch Sokrates' Kritik im Theaitetos die Annahme logischer Atome problematisieren. Auch Wittgenstein argumentiert in den Philosophischen Untersuchungen im Geist des Theaitetos gegen die Position des logischen Atomismus. Er argumentiert, dass Sätze eben nicht aufimmer fundamentalere Sätze reduzierbar sind, die letztlich aus logischen Atomen bestehen. Darüber hinaus lehnt er die Existenz einfacher Objekte, d.h. logischer Atome, im absoluten Sinne ab. Gemäß dem späten Wittgenstein ist die Einfachheit oder Komplexität eines Objekts kontextabhängig. Diese Revision zeigt einen Wandel in Wittgensteins Denken von der früheren Theorie logischer Atome hin zu einem kontextabhängigen Verständnis von Sprache und Bedeutung.

The advent of innovative techniques, such as the CRISPR/Cas system, has opened up a new range of possibilities for modifying the genome, with the potential to address previously unmet therapeutic needs of patients with genetic diseases. These new possibilities have not only raised ethical concerns but also challenged existing classifications of genome modification techniques. While the legal status of some of these new therapies remains uncertain, there is an ongoing debate within philosophy of biology about the information-related metaphors adopted by scientists to describe and classify the genome and its therapeutic modification. Given the continuing advance of new genomic therapies, we show, employing an interdisciplinary approach, that a comprehensive framework for the classification of these technologies is needed to resolve legal and philosophical issues. The first section provides an analysis of the current state of novel genome-modifying techniques in medical genetics. In the second section, we assess the regulatory status of these techniques within the European regulatory framework for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). Drawing on these results, we argue in the third section from a philosophical perspective that metaphors, such as ‘editing’ the genome, which are based on a conception of the genome as linear information, cannot adequately capture the breadth of advanced genomic technologies. To accurately categorise these techniques in a manner that meets their diverse applications, we propose introducing the umbrella term ‘somatic genomic therapies’ (SGTs). Urging an integrative approach to defining and classifying new technologies in medical genetics, we advocate for the development of an integrative concept of SGTs.

An increasing number of novel genomic therapies are expected to become available for patients with rare or ultra-rare diseases. However, the primary obstacle to equal patient access to these orphan genomic therapies are currently very high prices charged by manufacturers in the context of limited healthcare budgets. Taking into account ethical pricing theories, the paper proposes the implementation of a pricing infrastructure covering all European member states, which has the potential to promote distributive justice while maintaining the attractiveness of genomic therapy development.