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

TLDR

The ethics of new and emerging science and technology (NEST) is characterized by distinct tropes and patterns of moral argumentation, as reflected in discussions surrounding nanoscience and technology. The study offers an inventory of arguments and demonstrates how their patterns evolve among proponents and opponents. The authors employ an inventory-based analysis to trace these argument patterns across NEST arenas. The study identifies nano‑specific issues such as size effects and agency delegation to smart devices, and concludes that a pragmatist ethics emphasizing struggle and learning may be more productive than consensus‑oriented models.

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.