Researchers have increasingly been creating chimeras – combinations of cells from two species – raising profound ethical, social and scientific controversies. Such research could lead to the creation of animals such as pigs that contain human organs for transplantation, yet public fears have emerged. Scientists have thus called for enhanced public education and discussion, but these efforts require comprehension of the nature of public concerns. While arguments have viewed chimeras as either “good” or “bad,” artists have long depicted chimeras in ways that can inform these discussions. Chimeras have a long history – the term itself is from Greek mythology – and have generated complex and ambivalent responses, reflecting deep questions regarding who we are as humans. Images across disparate cultures (such as Sphinxes and minotaurs) suggest how humans have long seen species boundaries as fluid but in differing ways. These images suggest that emotional, not just rational, utilitarian perspectives need to be addressed and that challenges may arise in altering views of all individuals. Nonetheless, public messages could draw on historic examples of positive such combinations. Thus, artistic representations can aid scientists, policymakers, educators and members of the public-at-large recognize and better comprehend and address the discomforts chimeras can foster.

研究人员越来越多地创造嵌合体——来自两个物种的细胞的组合——引发了深刻的伦理、社会和科学争议。这样的研究可能会导致创造出含有用于移植的人体器官的猪等动物，但公众的担忧已经出现。科学家因此呼吁加强公众教育和讨论，但这些努力需要理解公众关注的性质。虽然争论将嵌合体视为“好”或“坏”，但长期以来，艺术家们以可以为这些讨论提供信息的方式描绘嵌合体。嵌合体有着悠久的历史——这个词本身来自希腊神话——并且产生了复杂而矛盾的反应，反映了关于我们作为人类的深刻问题。跨越不同文化（例如狮身人面像和牛头怪）的图像表明，人类长期以来一直认为物种边界是流动的，但方式不同。这些图像表明需要解决情感的，而不仅仅是理性的，功利主义的观点，改变所有人的观点可能会带来挑战。尽管如此，公共信息可以借鉴这种积极组合的历史例子。因此，艺术表现可以帮助科学家、政策制定者、教育者和广大公众认识并更好地理解和解决嵌合体可能引发的不适。