Nano-ethics as NEST-ethics: Patterns of Moral Argumentation About New and Emerging Science and Technology

Swierstra, Tjalling and Rip, Arie (2007) Nano-ethics as NEST-ethics: Patterns of Moral Argumentation About New and Emerging Science and Technology. Nanoethics, 1 (1). pp. 3-20. ISSN 1871-4757

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Abstract:	There might not be a specific nano-ethics, but there definitely is an ethics of new & emerging science and technology (NEST), with characteristic tropes and patterns of moral argumentation. Ethical discussion in and around nanoscience and technology reflects such NEST-ethics. We offer an inventory of the arguments, and show patterns in their evolution, in arenas full of proponents and opponents. We also show that there are some nano-specific issues: in how size matters, and when agency is delegated to smart devices. Our overall approach is a pragmatist ethics, and we conclude that struggle (and learning) might be more productive than models emphasizing consensus.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2007 The Author(s)
Research Group:	Philosophy (WIJSB)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/72839
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11569-007-0005-8
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