Ethics in technological culture: a programmatic proposal for a pragmatist approach

Area of Science:

• Ethics
• Philosophy of Technology
• Science and Technology Studies (STS)

Background:

• Traditional philosophy and applied ethics inadequately address the complexities of modern technological culture.
• Existing ethical frameworks lack sufficient insight into the moral significance of technological artifacts and systems.
• Science and Technology Studies (STS) reveal the intricate relationship between technology and society but often exhibit a 'normative deficit'.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations of both applied ethics ('technology blindness') and STS ('normative deficit').
• To propose a pragmatist approach as a means to integrate ethical considerations with technological development.
• To explore the potential of pragmatist ethics in navigating future technological landscapes and value conflicts.

Main Methods:

• Drawing insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS) to understand technological developments.
• Critically analyzing the 'technology blindness' in applied ethics and the 'normative deficit' in STS.
• Sketching the framework and tools of a pragmatist ethical approach.

Main Results:

• Identified a critical gap in current ethical and STS approaches regarding technology's societal impact.
• Proposed a pragmatist ethical framework to better understand and manage technology's moral dimensions.
• Highlighted the need for ethical tools to explore technologically shaped futures and manage value conflicts.

Conclusions:

• A pragmatist ethical approach offers a promising way to overcome the limitations of current applied ethics and STS.
• This approach can provide essential tools for analyzing the moral significance of technology and guiding future development.
• Managing deep value conflicts in a pluralistic society requires integrating ethical considerations with technological foresight.