Bøker i Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment-serien

Das Buch bietet einen systematischen Gesamtentwurf der Allgemeinen Ethik und damit für den interessierten Leser einen Zugang zu den wichtigsten Fragestellungen der Disziplin Ethik. Dazu werden im Anschluß an eine systematische und historische Einleitung propädeutische Fragen behandelt und die bekannten drei Paradigmen ethischer Reflexion (Tugendethik, Nutzenethik und Verpflichtungsethik) in Orientierung an den klassischen Texten dargestellt. Darauf aufbauend wird die mögliche Komplementarität dieser Paradigmen im Sinne eines Filtermodells sukzessiver ethischer Urteilsbildung entwickelt. Das Buch zeigt, ausgehend von den sprachphilosophischen und wissenschaftsphilosophischen Arbeiten der Erlanger Schule, darüber hinaus, daß moralische Verpflichtungen und Berechtigungen mit ihren unterschiedlichen Graden von Verbindlichkeit ohne starke ¿realistische¿ und wertphilosophische Unterstellungen rekonstruiert werden können.

Der Band widmet sich der Frage, wer verantwortlich ist für einen ethisch angemessenen Umgang mit Energie. Dazu sollen zunächst in einem ersten Schritt die normativen Grundlagen von Energieverantwortung skizziert werden. In einem zweiten Schritt werden mögliche Spannungsfelder identifiziert, die in verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen, wirtschaftlichen und politischen Dimensionen bestehen. In einem abschließenden dritten Schritt wird die Perspektive auf Probleme erweitert, die durch die Implementierung energieverantwortlicher Maßnahmen und Bestrebungen entstehen. So leistet der Band eine Ordnung der Fragen rund um Energieverantwortung sowie die Darstellung, Bewertung und Lösung konkreter Handlungsprobleme im Feld der Energie-Nachhaltigkeit.

Dieses Buch ist eine Open Access Publikation.Der lange gehegte Traum von künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) wird in unserer Alltagswelt zunehmend Realität. Damit verbinden sich hohe gesellschaftliche Erwartungen, aber auch Sorgen hinsichtlich einer schleichenden Entmündigung des Menschen. Am Beispiel des Forschungssektors lotet dieser Band die Optionen, Entwicklungschancen und Risiken von KI-Techniken für die Zukunft des wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisprozesses und der darauf beruhenden technischen Entwicklungen aus. Zu diesem Zweck wird zunächst der Stand der KI-Technik und ihrer Anwendungen dargestellt. Es folgen wissenschaftsphilosophische Untersuchungen zur Frage der Ersetzbarkeit des forschenden Menschen durch KI und zu erwartenden Veränderungen in der wissenschaftlichen Forschung. Weitere Abschnitte widmen sich den Folgen für die Arbeitswelt von Forschern/Forscherinnen sowie den durch KI erzeugten neuen Herausforderungen für die rechtliche Regulierung im Spannungsfeld von Wissenschaftsfreiheit und Datenschutz. Der Band schließt mit Empfehlungen für die verantwortlichen Akteure in Wissenschaft, Forschungspolitik und Gesellschaft aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive.

Managing a successful transition of the current energy supply system to less carbon emitting options, ensuring a safe and secure supply during the whole process and in the long term, is one of the largest challenges of our time.

The Europiiische Akademie is concerned with the study of scientific and technolog ical advances for the individual, society and the natural environment. It is the result of the Europiiische Akademie's working group "Functional Foods" which worked from January 2001 to June 2003.

Presents the results of a temporary interdisciplinary project, ranging from a discussion of the theoretical and practical possibilities in human-embryo experimentation and its alternatives in research on adult stem cells, a comparison of the situations of regulation of embryo research in Europe, and a survey of European public attitudes.

The wealth of insights into the brain's functioning gained by neuroscience in recent years led to the development of new possibilities for intervening in the brain such as neurotransplantation, neural prostheses and brain stimulation techniques.

This book offers an authoritative analysis of the challenges that have arisen as a result of modern technologies. It covers several environmental problems, such as climate change, overexploitation of natural resources, loss of natural habitats, pollution and human population growth, and discusses practical scenarios for sustainable human dwelling of our planet. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the first part introduces ¿global changes¿, describing how they are happening in reality, and the challenges arising from them. The second part introduces methodological approaches borrowed from various disciplines, such as engineering, management science, philosophy and theology, which can help deal with the contemporary challenges resulting from global changes. Lastly, the third part discusses some of the themes presented in the light of novel concepts, such as the Anthropocene, and includes interesting proposals and ideas about how human beings could dwell the Earth in this new age. Offering a comprehensive theoretical reflection on the relation between technology, environment and human beings, it also provides a practice-oriented guide for researchers and decision-makers working on a new ethical paradigm of acting in the Anthropocene.

Synthetic biology is a dynamic, young, ambitious, attractive, and heterogeneous scientific discipline. It is constantly developing and changing, which makes societal evaluation of this emerging new science a challenging task, prone to misunderstandings. Synthetic biology is difficult to capture, and confusion arises not only regarding which part of synthetic biology the discussion is about, but also with respect to the underlying concepts in use. This book offers a useful toolbox to approach this complex and fragmented field. It provides a biological access to the discussion using a 'layer' model that describes the connectivity of synthetic or semisynthetic organisms and cells to the realm of natural organisms derived by evolution.Instead of directly reviewing the field as a whole, firstly our book addresses the characteristic features of synthetic biology that are relevant to the societal discussion. Some of these features apply only to parts of synthetic biology, whereas others are relevant to synthetic biology as a whole. In the next step, these new features are evaluated with respect to the different areas of synthetic biology. Do we have the right words and categories to talk about these new features? In the third step, traditional concepts like "life" and "artificiality" are scrutinized with regard to their discriminatory power. This approach may help to differentiate the discussion on synthetic biology. Lastly our refined view is utilized for societal evaluation. We have investigated the public views and attitudes to synthetic biology. It also includes the analysis of ethical, risk and legal questions, posed by present and future practices of synthetic biology.This book contains the results of an interdisciplinary research project and presents the authors' main findings and recommendations. They are addressed to science, industry, politics and the general public interested in this upcoming field of biotechnology.

Synthetic biology is a dynamic, young, ambitious, attractive, and heterogeneous scientific discipline. It is constantly developing and changing, which makes societal evaluation of this emerging new science a challenging task, prone to misunderstandings. Synthetic biology is difficult to capture, and confusion arises not only regarding which part of synthetic biology the discussion is about, but also with respect to the underlying concepts in use. This book offers a useful toolbox to approach this complex and fragmented field. It provides a biological access to the discussion using a 'layer' model that describes the connectivity of synthetic or semisynthetic organisms and cells to the realm of natural organisms derived by evolution.Instead of directly reviewing the field as a whole, firstly our book addresses the characteristic features of synthetic biology that are relevant to the societal discussion. Some of these features apply only to parts of synthetic biology, whereas others are relevant to synthetic biology as a whole. In the next step, these new features are evaluated with respect to the different areas of synthetic biology. Do we have the right words and categories to talk about these new features? In the third step, traditional concepts like ¿life¿ and ¿artificiality¿ are scrutinized with regard to their discriminatory power. This approach may help to differentiate the discussion on synthetic biology. Lastly our refined view is utilized for societal evaluation. We have investigated the public views and attitudes to synthetic biology. It also includes the analysis of ethical, risk and legal questions, posed by present and future practices of synthetic biology.This book contains the results of an interdisciplinary research project and presents the authors¿ main findings and recommendations. They are addressed to science, industry, politics and the general public interested in this upcoming field of biotechnology.

Modern molecular technology in the so-called life sciences (biology as weil as medicine) allows today to approach and manipulate living beings in ways and to an extent wh ich not too long aga seemed Utopian. The empirical progress promises further and even more radical developments in the future, and it is at least often claimed that this kind of research will have tremendeous etfects on and for all of humanity, for example in the areas of food production, transplantation medicine (including stem cell research and xenotransplantation), (therapeutic) genetic manipulation and (cell-line) cloning (of cell lines or tissues), and of biodiversity conservation-strategies. At least in Western, industrialized countries the development of modern sciences led to a steady increase of human health, well-being and quality of life. However, with the move to make the human body itself an object of scientific research­ interests, the respective scientific descriptions resulted in changes in the image that human beings have of themselves. Scientific progress has led to a startling loss of traditional human self-understanding. This development is in contrast to an under­ standing according to which the question what it means to be "human" is treated in the realm of philosophy. And indeed, a closer look reveals that - without denying the value of scientitic progress - science cannot replace the philosophical approach to anthropological questions.

The Europaische Akademie zur Erforschung von Folgen wissenschaftlich-techni scher Entwicklungen Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler GmbH (european academy) is con cerned with the scientific study of the consequences of scientific and technological advance for the individual and social life and for the natural environment.

An important aim behind the restructuring of Germany's and Europe's electricity systems is to reduce the environmental burden, especially with respect to greenhouse gas emissions, of the current systems.

Information and knowledge play an increasingly important role in the implementation of public policies, in particular those of the Central and Eastern European Countries.

Technology Assessment processes can be taken as a paradigm for interdisciplinary research. In the present volume European experts of Technology Assessment present their perspectives on interdisciplinary research.

The Europaische Akademie zur Erforschung von Folgen wissenschaftlich-techni scher Entwicklungen Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler GmbH (european academy) is con cerned with the scientific study of the consequences of scientific and technological advance for the individual and social life and for the natural environment.

Information and knowledge play an increasingly important role in the implementation of public policies, in particular those of the Central and Eastern European Countries.

Disparate perceptions and conceptual frameworks of environment and the relationship between humans and nature often lead to confusion, constraints on co-operation and collaboration and even conflict when society tries to deal with today's urgent and complex environment research and policy challenges.

Technology Assessment processes can be taken as a paradigm for interdisciplinary research. In the present volume European experts of Technology Assessment present their perspectives on interdisciplinary research.