According to Greek mythology, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, bestowed upon the mortal Bellerophon a golden bridle, which he used to tame Pegasus and defeat the Chimera. In this mythical tale, the golden bridle gave man a combined means of wielding philosophical wisdom and human control over extraordinary entities. In Chapter 2, I explained the ways in which stem cell research is comprised of activities and technologies that are transformative and astonishing. Like the Greek hero Bellerophon, modern man, too, needs philosophical wisdom and local control – a golden bridle – to direct stem cell research.

The golden bridle offers an apt metaphor for what I believe are two different levels on which people tend to think about research ethics. Philosophers and others with theoretically inclined minds often like to discuss the ethics of scientific research at a very general, abstract level. For example, one may ask whether science is a human activity that is morally self-justifying, or whether it is valuable only in so far as it contributes to human flourishing. What makes the pursuit of scientific research morally good? Regarding stem cell research specifically, one may ask what moral values ought to guide its continuation, and what kind of limitations ought to constrain stem cell research in an ethically justified way? These are matters of philosophical research ethics. Philosophical research ethics is the stuff of philosophical wisdom, as represented by the golden nature of Athena’s bridle.