The Methodology of Moral Reasoning Nanoethics Lecture I Roderick T. Long Auburn Dept. of Philosophy.
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Transcript of The Methodology of Moral Reasoning Nanoethics Lecture I Roderick T. Long Auburn Dept. of Philosophy.
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The Methodology of Moral Reasoning
Nanoethics Lecture I
Roderick T. Long
Auburn Dept. of Philosophy
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What will nanotechnology bring?
A spectrum of views: extreme predictions, modest predictions, and in between
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Extreme predictions: the hype
Immortality!Godlike powers!Nanobots inside us curing
all diseases!The ability to build or
remold anything, including ourselves, from the atomic level up!
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Extreme predictions: the hype
Or on the gloomier side – out-of-control nanobots devouring the earth!
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Extreme predictions: Drexler and Kurzweil
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Extreme predictions in ficiton
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More modest predictions
Fancy nanoengineering won’t work!
1. Too sticky2. Brownian motion
The most we can hope for may be ….
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Modest predictions
somewhat better soap.
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What will nanotechnology bring?
Most nanoscientists think the truth lies somewhere in between …
which is pretty exciting!
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Even on a moderate view, nanotechnology raises issues of ethics
How should we balance public welfare and safety against academic freedom of researchers?
How can we compare the weights of national security, corporate profit, public good, individual rights, environmental impact, and integrity of scientific enterprise?
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Even on a moderate view, nanotechnology raises issues of ethics
How should the benefits of, and/or the control over, nanotechnology be justly distributed?
What are the ethical implications of altering human nature via nanotechnology?
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Thinking About EthicsEthics is a branch of philosophy.What is philosophy?
Subject matter: questions about the ultimate nature of reality, knowledge, & valueMethod: dialectic = reflective equilibration
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Three Main Branches of Philosophy
Metaphysics: nature of realityEpistemology: nature of knowledgeAxiology: nature of value
Branches of axiology: ethics (moral value), aesthetics (artistic value)
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Philosophy
- How different from religion?
- How different from science?
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
Example:
what’s a 7-letter word for a large predator belonging to the cat family?
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
Example:
what’s a 7-letter word for a large predator belonging to the cat family?
PANTHER? LEOPARD?
CHEETAH? LIONESS?
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
What’s a 7-letter word that’s the name of a famous vampire?
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
What’s a 7-letter word that’s the name of a famous vampire?
DRACULA
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
As in a crossword puzzle, so in dialectic, questions we can answer help us with questions we can’t answer.
Consistency.
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What Is Ethics?Subject-matter: good and
bad, right and wrong.
Method: reflective equilibration.
(John Rawls, 1921-2002)
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Reflective EquilibrationAchieving coherence among
our beliefs
Balancing general principles against particular cases
Crossword puzzle method
(Susan Haack, b. 1945)
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Reflective EquilibrationSocrates (c. 470-399
BCE) called it dialectic
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
Example from
Plato’s dialogue
Laches, featuring
Socrates (c. 470-399 BCE)
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
1st definition: standing firm in battle
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
1st definition: standing firm in battle
Problem: too narrow
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
2nd definition: willingness to face danger
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
2nd definition: willingness to face danger
Problem: when foolish, not admirable, so not a virtue, so not courageous
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
3rd definition: wise willingness to face danger
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Socrates vs. Laches:What Is Courage?
3rd definition: wise willingness to face danger
Problem: takes more courage to act without wisdom
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The Method of Philosophy: Dialectic
Laches is led to revise uncertain views about the definition of courage by appeal to other views.
DIALECTIC!
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism: The right action is whichever action produces the greatest total amount of social benefit (“the greatest happiness of the greatest number”)
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Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
The Organ Donor Case (ODC):
You can save five patients by killing one and redistributing his organs. Should you?
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Anti-Utilitarian argument:If utilitarianism were true, then in
the ODC we should kill.But surely it would be wrong to kill
in the ODC.So utilitarianism is false.
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Utilitarian argument:It’s a mistake to assume that
utilitarianism says to kill in ODC.
Sometimes better to aim at goal indirectly.
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Francis Bacon (1561-1626):
Experiments of fruit vs. experiments of light
Also: referees
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Utilitarian argument:Likewise, a general policy of sacrificing
few to many would make all of society nervous
Make society better off by committing ourselves to a principle prohibiting such sacrifices
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Dialectic in Action:The Debate Over Utilitarianism
Anti-Utilitarian argument:- If commitment is absolute,
utilitarianism has been abandoned- If commitment isn’t absolute, problem
isn’t solved- In any case, gives right answer for
wrong reason