Technology and Values

by Danny M. Cohen (Contribution by), Richard DeGeorge (Contribution by), Hubert Dreyfus (Contribution by), Stacey Edgar (Contribution by), Rachelle Hollander (Contribution by)

Overview

Technology and Values provides a highly useful collection of essays organized around issues related to science, technology, public health, economics, the environment, and ethical theory. The editors present effective introductions that provide background information as well as philosophical tools and case studies to facilitate understanding of the variety of issues emanating from the most significant developments in technology, including the effects on privacy of the widespread use of computers to store and retrieve personal information and the ethical considerations of genetic engineering.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847686315
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.08(d)

About the Author

Kristin Shrader-Frechette is distinguished research professor in philosophy and in environmental sciences and policy at the University of South Florida. She holds degrees in mathematics, physics, and philosophy. She is the author of numerous books, including Ethics of Scientific Research (Rowman & Littlefield, 1994). Laura Westra is professor emerita of philosophy at the University of Windsor and the author or editor of numerous books, including An Environmental Proposal for Ethics (Rowman & Littlefield, 1994), Faces of Environmental Racism (Rowman & Littlefield, 1995), Perspectives on Ecological Integrity (Kluwer), The Greeks and the Environment (Rowman & Littlefield, 1997) and Technology and Values (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998). Bill Lawson is professor of philosophy at Michigan State University.

Table of Contents

Part 1 One: Introduction
Chapter 2 1.1 Overview: Ethical Studies about Technology
Chapter 3 1.2 What Is Moral Philosophy?
Chapter 4 1.3 Technology and Ethical Issues
Chapter 5 1.4 Further Reading
Part 6 Two: Alternative Views of Technology
Chapter 7 2.1 Introduction and Overview
Chapter 8 2.2 Heidegger on Gaining a Free Relation to Technology
Chapter 9 2.3 Technologies as Forms of Life
Chapter 10 2.4 The Role of Technology in Society
Chapter 11 2.5 Technology: The Opiate of the Intellectuals
Chapter 12 2.6 The Social Deconstruction of Safety
Chapter 13 2.7 The Political Construction of Technology: A Call for Constructive Technology Assessment
Chapter 14 2.8 Further Reading
Part 15 Three: How to Evaluate Technology
Chapter 16 3.1 Introduction and Overview
Chapter 17 3.2 Frankenstein's Problem: Autonomous Technology
Chapter 18 3.3 Technology, Demography, and the Anachronism of Traditional Rights
Chapter 19 3.4 Economic Evaluations of Technology
Chapter 20 3.5 Sociological versus Metascientific Views of Technological Risk Assessment
Chapter 21 3.6 Further Reading
Part 22 Four: Case Studies about Technology
Chapter 23 4.1 Introduction and Overview
Chapter 24 4.2 Engineering Design Research and Social Responsibility
Chapter 25 4.3 Ethics and Automobile Technology: The Pinto Case
Chapter 26 4.4 Computers and Privacy
Chapter 27 4.5 Ethics and Military Technology: Star Wars
Chapter 28 4.6 Nuclear Technology and Radioactive Waste
Chapter 29 4.7 Assessment of Environmental and Economic Impacts of Pesticide Use
Chapter 30 4.8 Ethical Issues in Human Genome Research
Chapter 31 4.9 A "Transgenic Dinner"? Social and Ethical Issues in Biotechnology and Agriculture
Chapter 32 4.10 Further Reading

Editorial Reviews

Some 25 contributions are divided into four sections covering introductory theoretical approaches to technology; alternative views of technology from Heidegger to the social construction of safety; how to evaluate technology, encompassing such issues as the problem of Frankenstein and economic evaluations of technology; and case studies about technology, from the problems raised by computers to radioactive waste. The text aims to provide the student with diverse and divergent perspectives on technological issues. Each chapter provides several study questions. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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