Allhoff / Lin / Moore What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter?

From Science to Ethics
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4443-1800-5
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 304 Seiten, E-Book

Ongoing research in nanotechnology promises both innovations andrisks, potentially and profoundly changing the world. This bookhelps to promote a balanced understanding of this importantemerging technology, offering an informed and impartial look at thetechnology, its science, and its social impact and ethics.
* Nanotechnology is crucial for the next generation ofindustries, financial markets, research labs, and our everydaylives; this book provides an informed and balanced look atnanotechnology and its social impact
* Offers a comprehensive background discussion on nanotechnologyitself, including its history, its science, and its tools, creatinga clear understanding of the technology needed to evaluate ethicsand social issues
* Authored by a nanoscientist and philosophers, offers anaccurate and accessible look at the science while providing anideal text for ethics and philosophy courses
* Explores the most immediate and urgent areas of social impactof nanotechnology

Autoren/Hrsg.

Allhoff, Fritz

Lin, Patrick

Moore, Daniel

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface viii
Unit I What Is Nanotechnology? 1
1 The Basics of Nanotechnology 3
1.1 Definitions and Scales 3
1.2 The Origins of Nanotechnology 5
1.3 The Current State of Nanotechnology 8
1.4 The Future of Nanotechnology 12
1.5 Nanotechnology in Nature and Applications 16
2 Tools of the Trade 20
2.1 Seeing the Nanoscale 21
2.2 Basic Governing Theories 30
3 Nanomaterials 36
3.1 Formation of Materials 36
3.2 Carbon Nanomaterials 37
3.3 Inorganic Nanomaterials 44
4 Applied Nanotechnology 56
4.1 Using Nanomaterials 56
4.2 Nanotechnology Computing and Robotics 62
4.3 Predicting the Future of Technology 67
Unit II Risk, Regulation, and Fairness 71
5 Risk and Precaution 73
5.1 Risk 73
5.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis 79
5.3 Precautionary Principles 82
5.4 Evaluating the Precautionary Principle 89
6 Regulating Nanotechnology 96
6.1 The Stricter-Law Argument 97
6.2 Learning from History 100
6.3 Objections to the Stricter-Law Argument 102
6.4 An Interim Solution? 120
6.5 Putting the Pieces Together 124
7 Equity and Access 126
7.1 Distributive Justice 127
7.2 Nanotechnology and the Developing World 132
7.3 Water Purification 135
7.4 Solar Energy 140
7.5 Medicine 143
7.6 Nanotechnology, the Developing World, and DistributiveJustice 145
Unit III Ethical and Social Implications 151
8 Environment 153
8.1 Society, Technology, and the Environment 154
8.2 Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology 159
8.3 Nanotechnology Solutions to Environmental Problems 161
8.4 Overall Assessments: Risk and Precaution 168
9 Military 170
9.1 The Military and Technology 170
9.2 A Nano-Enabled Military 173
9.3 A Nano-Enabled Defense System 177
9.4 Ethical Concerns 179
10 Privacy 185
10.1 Historical and Legal Background 186
10.2 Philosophical Foundations 192
10.3 Radio Frequency Identity Chips 198
10.4 Item-Level Tagging 201
10.5 Human Implants 204
10.6 RFID-Chipped Identification 207
10.7 Is RFID a Threat to Privacy? 210
11 Medicine 215
11.1 The Rise of Nanomedicine 216
11.2 Diagnostics and Medical Records 219
11.3 Treatment 223
11.4 Moving Forward 227
12 Human Enhancement 230
12.1 What is Human Enhancement? 231
12.2 Defining Human Enhancement 234
12.3 The Therapy-Enhancement Distinction 237
12.4 Human Enhancement Scenarios 240
12.5 Untangling the Issues in Human Enhancement 243
12.6 Restricting Human Enhancement Technologies? 252
13 Conclusion 254
13.1 Chapter Summaries 255
13.2 Final Thoughts and Future Investigations 258
References 261
Index 282

Über Autor(innen)

Fritz Allhoff is Assistant Professor in the Department ofPhilosophy at Western Michigan University, where he also holds anaffiliation with the Mallinson Institute for Science Education. Hehas held fellowships at the Center for Philosophy of Science at theUniversity of Pittsburgh and the Centre for Applied Philosophy andPublic Ethics at the Australian National University. He has editedmore than 20 books, including two on the social and ethicalimplications of nanotechnology.
Patrick Lin is the director of Ethics + Emerging SciencesGroup at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo,and holds academic appointments at Dartmouth College, US NavalAcademy and Western Michigan University. He is also lead author ofa recent major report funded by the Department of Navy entitledAutonomous Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, and Design(2008), as well as other publications in technology ethics,including edited anthologies on nanoethics.
Daniel Moore is a research scientist on nanoscalesemiconductor solutions for IBM. He served on the Georgia Instituteof Technology's honor committee and has received numerousfellowships, including the Molecular Design Institute Fellowship,the GT Nanoscience and Technology Fellowship, the School ofMaterials Science and Engineering Advanced Publication Award, theNSF STEP Fellowship, and a Sam Nunn Security Fellowship. Hisprofessional experience includes nanoscale research in otherleading industry laboratories.