Abstract
The field of nanoscience and nanotechnology is expanding rapidly, promising great benefits for society in the form of better medicine, more efficient energy production, new types of materials, etc. Naturally, in order for the science and technology to live up to these promises, it is important to continue scientific research and development, but equally important is the ethical dimension. Giving attention to the social, ethical and legal aspects of the field, among others, will help in developing a fully responsible—and thereby capable—science and technology. Nanoethics has emerged as a field concerned with such ethical issues related to nanoscience and nanotechnology. Even though this field is relatively new, a significant amount of literature has already been published. This paper focuses on three of the major issues which are discussed in the literature of nanoethics, and also points to a certain bias in this literature. Each quite different in nature, these issues are: (1) The naming and (2) the timing of and approach to the field, as well as (3) the issue of safety. As will be seen, these issues are almost exclusively discussed by ethicists, (throughout the article, the term’ethicist’ is used in a broad definition covering philosophers, social and political scientists as well as philosophers of science) thus having no direct influence on the work being carried out by scientists. One can argue, therefore, that this bias creates a distortion of the ethical debate, making it insufficient and misleading. Ultimately, this bias is caused by the lack of communication and collaboration between ethicists on the one hand, and nanoscientists on the other. Thus, an argument is made for the different disciplines to begin collaborating, so as to more effectively and responsibly develop the field of nanoscience.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
‘Modulation’ as a term was introduced by Arie Rip, Professor of Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands It is used as an alternative to more forceful ways of bringing about change [35]
References
Gaskell G, Stares S, Allansdottir A, Allum N, Castro P, Esmer Y, Fischler C, Jackson J, Kronberger N, Hampel J, Mejlgaard N, Quintanilha A, Rammer A, Revuelta G, Stoneman P, Torgersen H, Wagner W (2010) Europeans and biotechnology—winds of change? European Commission Directorate-General for Research Communication Unit
Hartsell L, Weckert J, Pogge T (2011) Nanoscience, ethics and progress. The poor and advanced technologies. 2011 International Conference on Nanoscience, Technology and Societal Implications. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6111991
Jamison A (2009) Can nanotechnology be just? On nanotechnology and the emerging movement for global justice. NanoEthics 3:129–136
Ebbesen M (2009) The principle of justice and access to nanomedicine in national healthcare systems. Stud Ethics Law Technol 3(3):Article 5
Ferrari A (2010) Developments in the debate on nanoethics: traditional approaches and the need for a new kind of analysis. NanoEthics 4:27–52
Brownsword R (2009) Nanoethics: old wine, new bottles? J Consum Policy 32:355–379
Meetoo D (2009) Nanotechnology: is there a need for ethical principles? Br J Nurs 18(20):1264–1268
Godman M (2008) But is it unique to nanotechnology? Sci Eng Ethics 14:391–403
Allhoff F, Lin P (2006) What’s so special about nanotechnology and nanoethics? Int J Appl Philos 20(2):179–190
McGinn RE (2010) What’s different, ethically, about nanotechnology?: Foundational questions and answers. NanoEthics 4:115–128
Kagawa C (2009) Neuroethics and bioethics—implications of balkanization controversy. Brain Nerve 61(1):11–17
van de Poel I (2008) How should we do nanoethics? A network approach for discerning ethical issues in nanotechnology. NanoEthics 2:25–38
Allhoff F (2007) On the autonomy and justification of nanoethics. NanoEthics 1(3):185–210
Weil V (2003) Zeroing in on ethical issues in nanotechnology. Proc IEEE 91(11):1976–1979
Grunwald A (2010) From speculative nanoethics to explorative philosophy of nanotechnology. NanoEthics 4:91–101
Ebbesen M, Andersen S, Besenbacher F (2006) Ethics in nanotechnology: starting from scratch? Bull Sci Technol Soc 26(6):451–462
Lin P (2007) In defense of nanoethics: a reply to Adam Keiper. www.nanoethics.org—the ethics and societal impact of nanotechnology, (30-08-2011)
Mnyuisiwalla A, Daar AS, Singer PA (2003) Mind the gap: science and ethics in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology 14:R9–R13
Roache R (2008) Ethics, speculation, and values. NanoEthics 2:317–327
Nordmann A, Rip A (2009) Mind the gap revisited. Nat Nanotechnol 4:273–274
Keiper A (2007) Nanoethics as a discipline? The New Atlantis (Spring):55–67
Nordmann A (2007) If and then: a critique of speculative nanoethics. NanoEthics 1:31–46
Marchant GE, Sylvester DJ, Abbott KW (2008) Risk management principles for nanotechnology. NanoEthics 2:48–60
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. http://www.unesco.org/education/information/nfsunesco/pdf/RIO_E.PDF
Koepsell D (2010) On genies and bottles: scientists’ moral responsibility and dangerous R&D. Sci Eng Ethics 16:119–133
Kuzma J, Besley JC (2008) Ethics of risk analysis and regulatory review: from bio- to nanotechnology. NanoEthics 2:149–162
Costa HS, SetheS PAP, Olsson IAS (2011) Scientists’ perception of ethical issues in nanomedicine: a case study. Nanomedicine 6(4):681–691
Wolpe PR (2006) Reasons scientists avoid thinking about ethics. Cell 125:1023–1025
Sparrow R (2008) Talkin’ ‘bout a (nanotechnological) revolution. Technol Soc Mag IEEE 27(2):37–43
Legge JS, Durant RF (2010) Public opinion, risk assessment, and biotechnology: lessons from attitudes toward genetically modified foods in the European Union. Rev Policy Res 27(1):59–76
Bonny S (2003) Why are most Europeans opposed to GMOs? Factors explaining rejection in France and Europe. Electron J Biotechnol 6(1):50–71
McGinn R (2010) Ethical responsibilities of nanotechnology researchers: a short guide. NanoEthics 4:1–12
Dubochet J (2008) Citizen biologists. The Lausanne experience. EMBO Rep 9(1):5–9
Dubochet J (2009) Genomics for citizens. EMBO Rep 10(10):1–4
Rip A (2006) Aco-evolutionary approach to reflexive governance—and its ironies. In: Voss J, Bauknecht D, Kemp R (eds) Reflexive governance for sustainable development. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 82–100
Fisher E (2007) Ethnographic invention: probing the capacity of laboratory decisions. NanoEthics 1:155–165
Schuurbiers D, Fisher E (2009) Lab-scale intervention. EMBO Rep 10(5):424–427
Fisher E, Mahajan R (2006) Midstream modulation of nanotechnology in an academic laboratory. In Proceedings of IMECE2006: American Society of Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November 5–10. Chicago, IL, USA: ASME
Webster A (2007) Crossing boundaries: social science in the policy room. Sci Technol Hum Values 32:458–478
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rasmussen, A.J., Ebbesen, M. & Andersen, S. Nanoethics—A Collaboration Across Disciplines. Nanoethics 6, 185–193 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-012-0156-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-012-0156-0