Ethics

Full course description

We live in a fast-paced and ever-changing world in which scientific and technological practices raise many ethical concerns. Building on the theme that science and technology have both beneficial and detrimental aspects, this course explores the ethical dimensions of a multitude of scientific and technological practices and innovations such as food technologies, cloning, genomics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology and big data analyses. We will focus on both current ethical controversies in science and technology as well as long-standing debates. We will ask and discussion questions such as, should research be conducted on animals, and if so, under what conditions? What ethical issues arise as a result of our increasing use of computers? What are scientists’ responsibilities regarding risky technologies? To what extent, and how, should the public be involved in scientific practices? Instead of providing easy answers to these questions, this course will provide concepts and theories for thinking about ethical issues systematically and coherently, and for developing justifiable positions about them.