Knowledge and Normativity: A Matrix of Disciplines and Practices

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the link in this recordThis chapter introduces the matrix approach as a method of studying the life sciences. It builds on insights from the philosophy and sociology of science over the past decades against which it is laid out. The contribution of this new approach is that it reconfigures the life sciences as multidisciplinary and multi-institutional societal projects. The case study of stem cell research shows that one cannot separate internal and external, that is epistemic, social, ethical, and political factors affecting the development of a life science. The matrix approach allows for the examination of this complex and dynamic web of interests and societal practices and highlights the important role of legal, normative, technical and political conditions and activities in making the science work in specific ways. Life sciences operate in a matrix of diverse societal intersections and spheres of dominance. The approach especially reframes the role and scope of the humanities and social sciences. It prepares the ground for a self-critical reflection in bioethics, social sciences, and philosophy. These disciplines do not just analyse stem cell research as an object, from a distance, they co-configure it and shape its contemporary gestalt and practices.German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the ArtsUniversity of Exete

ELSA in industrial robotics

Purpose of ReviewIndustry is changing; converging technologies allow a fourth Industrial Revolution, where it is envisaged that robots will work alongside humans. We investigate how the research community is responding to the ethical, legal, and social aspects of industrial robots, with a primary focus on manufacturing industry.Recent FindingsThe literature shows considerable interest in the impact of robotics and automation on industry. This interest spans many disciplines, which is to be expected given that the ELS impacts of industrial robotics may be profound in their depth and far-reaching in their scope.SummaryWe suggest that the increasing importance of human-robot interaction (HRI) reduces the differentiation between industrial robotics and other robotic domains and that the main challenges to successful adoption for the benefit of human life are above all political and economic. Emerging standards and legal frameworks may scaffold this success, but it is apparent that getting it wrong might have repercussions that last for generations

Ethik der Digitalisierung im Gesundheitswesen

Datafizierung, sektorale Entgrenzung und Überwachung (Surveillance) sind Entwicklungen, die aus ethischer Perspektive gerade für das Gesundheitswesen von besonderer Relevanz sind. Mit Bezug auf Gesundheit und die spezifische Konstitution des Menschen (Vulnerabilität, Leiblichkeit, Sozialität) werden hier ethisch heikle Punkte berührt, die bei der Forschung, Entwicklung, Verbreitung und Nutzung digitaler Gesundheitstechnologien besonders zu berücksichtigen sind. Abgerundet wird diese Betrachtung mit Überlegungen zum Einsatz von Robotern und Assistenzsystemen in Medizin und Pflege, weil an ihnen der transzendierende Charakter dieser Technik verdeutlicht werden kann. Es muss letztlich eine ethisch-anthropologische Neubestimmung erfolgen, sofern diese Technik den rein instrumentellen Charakter bisheriger Werkzeuge, Maschinen und Automaten überschreitet. Um zu verhindern, dass ethische Fragestellungen zu spät angegangen werden, und um Schaden zu vermeiden skizziert dieser Artikel die Richtung der zu erwartenden Herausforderungen und identifiziert im Kern einige ethisch relevante Fragestellungen anhand konkreter Beispiele