reportEthics Toolkit
6 Toolkit for ethical reflection and communication
Ethical debate on nanotechnology is large and tangled. It is often unclear what the right questions in this debate are, nor whether these questions are specific to nanotechnology in comparison with other emerging technologies. This Toolkit for ethical reflection and communication does not claim to provide a definitive picture of all options in the ethical debate on nanotechnology. Its aim is more modest: we wish to provide the reader with means to frame her own vision of the debate and to sharpen ethical awareness of the parties involved in the development of nanosciences and nanotechnologies. We hope that this will foster the dialogue between philosophy, science, industry, and society. The toolkit does not replace academic research on the subject (see journal Nanoethics). It is our firm conviction that those who think about nanosciences and nanotechnologies are better equipped to do so with a notion of philosophical ethics. This is because the views elaborated over centuries can enable the construction of an argument to respond to new problems and because philosophical reflection itself will suggest new lines of questioning. The approach behind this Toolkit rests on two assumptions:
- That nanotechnology as a new wave of cutting edge technology is likely to lead us, over time, to deeply modify both our norms for action and our worldview. This was the case with nuclear technology, space travel, information technology and genetic engineering, and it will likely be the case with nanotechnology. The role of philosophy is to study this change and to accompany it with a continual reflection.
- Certain fundamental choices must be made now, which concern the future. Yet uncertainty prevails with regard to our own future, for reasons connected with unforeseeable technological development as well as the arbitrariness of human decision and policy-making. Rather than guessing at what the future might be, it is crucially important to install a practice of ongoing normative reflection about the problems that appear on the horizon.
From the methodological point of view, this Toolkit must not be characterized as a set of rules, moral or otherwise, imposed on nanotechnology. There can be no ready-to-use ethical code for any new technology. Principles, norms and values all evolve in time. Rather, the approach should be seen as being in the form of what the American philosopher John Rawls calls a "reflective equilibrium". This consists of a double-way exchange between ethical theory and practice in a process of deliberative mutual adjustment. The Toolkit must not be seen as a recipe book offering plug-and-play solutions. It helps, and perhaps sometimes guides, ethical thinking by offering concepts, notions, and methods for an application to practical cases.
Table of contents
Part 1. Introduction... 6
1.1. What is ethics?. 6
1.2. What is special about nanotechnology?. 6
1.3. What can ethics do for nanotechnology?. 7
Part 2. Classifying ethical and societal issues.. 8
2.1 Nanobiotechnology. 9
Living and Inanimate. 10
Natural vs. Artificial 11
2.2 Nanomedicine. 12
Transhumanism.. 13
Health and Disease. 15
2.3 Food and cosmetics nanotechnology. 16
2.4 Information and Communication Technology. 17
Private and public. 18
Human Dignity. 20
Replicants and robots. 21
The Cyborg. 21
2.5 Nanotechnology in the military: questions of dual use. 22
2.6 Questions relative to risk and uncertainty. 23
The Precautionary Principle. 24
2.7 Questions relative to public communication on nanotechnology. 25
Hype. 26
2.8 Questions relative to visions and fictions. 27
Magic Nano. 28
2.9 Questions of social justice. 29
Distributive justice. 30
2.10 Questions of responsibility. 31
Responsibility: collective and individual 32
2.11 Questions of epistemology. 33
"Plenty of Room at the bottom": myth or reality?. 34
Part 3.Thinking with the help of ethical concepts.. 35
Three ethical theories. 37
Moral Luck.. 40
Part 4. Responsible communication... 42
4.1. Nanotech halo.. 42
4.2. The virtues of principled communication.. 43
4.3. Perception is framed by narratives. 45
Part 5. Narratives of nanotech... 48
Introduction: What is a myth? Why does it matter for science?. 48
I. Prometheus. 49
5.1. The Ambivalence of Technology. 50
5.2. Technology and politics. 51
5.3. Technology and hubris. 52
II. The Golem of Jeremiah.. 53
5.4. Knowing is making.. 54
5.5. Intermediate status of technical objects. 55
III. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. 56
5.6. Making life from death.. 57
5.7. Blindness to ethical consequences. 57
5.8. The social status of artefacts. 58
IV. A positive Prometheus?. 59
V. Pandora's Box. 59
5.9. Technology and desire. 60
VI. Daedalus. 61
5.10. Science, tinkering and rationality. 62
5.11. Technology and values. 63
5.12. The scientist and other humans. 64
VII. The Matrix. 65
5.13. The reality of simulation.. 66
5.14. Reality, a matter of choice. 68
Conclusion.. 69
Glossary.. 70
Principles of the scientist's ethic.. 70
Nanoethical terms and notions. 72
Document details:
Visits: 2702, Published on: April, 21st 2009, 11:28 AM, Last edit: June, 22nd 2010, 02:39 PM Size: 6 KByte