ethics of knowledge policy
TRANSCRIPT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................5
2. FOUR DEVELOPMENTS THAT ILLUSTRATE THE SHORTCOMINGS OF
INDIVIDUAL ROLE-RESPONSIBILITY............................................................6
3. FROM INDIVIDUAL ROLE RESPONSIBILITY TO COLLECTIVE CO-
RESPONSIBILITY ...............................................................................................10
4. FORESIGHT AND KNOLEDGE ASSESSMENT..............................................14
5. FORESIGHT AND DELIBERATION......................................................................16
6. DELIBERATION ON NE TECHNOLOGIES! NANOTECHNOLOGY"
CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES.....................................................................20
LITERATURE REFERENCES.....................................................................................24
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From the Ethics of Technology towards an Ethics of Knowledge Policy and Knowledge Assessment
F#$% &'( E&')*+ $, T(*'$$/ &$#+ E&')*+ $, K$(/( P$)*
K$(/( A++(++%(& 1
Ren von Schomberg 2
1. I$*&)$
My analysis takes as its point of departure the contested assumption that contemporaryethical theories can not capture adequately the ethical and social challenges of scientific and
technological development. This assumption is rooted in the argument that classical ethical
theory always addresses the issue of ethical responsibility in terms how intentional actions ofindividuals can be justified. Scientific and technological developments, however, have
produced unintentional consequences and sideconsequences. These consequences are very
often the results of collective decisions on the way we wish to organise our economies andsociety, rather than from individual actions. !or already a long time, it is not sufficient to
construct an ethics of science and technology on the basis of the image of a scientist who
intentionally wants to create a !rankenstein. So as a minimum we would require an ethical
framework that addresses both the aspect of unintentional side consequences "rather thanintentional actions# and the aspect of collective decisions "rather than individual decisions#
with regard to comple$ societal systems, such as the operation of our economy. %e do not
have such a theory at our disposal. More disturbing than the principle shortcomings of ethicaltheory, constitute the shortcomings of conventional ethical practice vis a vis technological
developments. &elow ' will mention how four developments can illustrate these
shortcomings, which centre around the fact that individuals in our society can simply not beheld fully accountable for their individual role within the conte$t of scientific technological
developments. ' will call it the shortcomings of a theory "and practice# of individual role
1 (orrect citation) *on Schomberg, +ene von "--#, From the Ethics of Technology towards anEthics of Knowledge Policy and Knowledge Assessment, a working document from the /uropean(ommission Services, 0irectorate eneral for +esearch, &russels
This working document has benefited from earlier collaborative work with 2rof. (arl Mitcham" (olorado School of Mines# and 3ngela uimaraes 2ereira "4oint +esearch (entre, 'spra#. ' am also
especially indebted to 2rof. 3lfred 5ordmann and 2rof. 'mre 6ronsky for critical comments on an
earlier draft of this document.
0r. 0r.phil. +ene von Schomberg "email) +ene.vonschomberg7ec.europa.eu# is at the /uropean(ommission, 0irectorate eneral for +esearch. The views e$pressed here are those of the author andmay not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the /uropean (ommission.
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responsibility. !rom there, ' will argue why we have to shift our attention to an ethics of
knowledge assessment in the framework of deliberative procedures instead.
2. F$# (($%(&+ &'& )+&( &'( +'$#&*$%)/+ $, ))) #$(-
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There has occurred, a proliferation of roles within which individuals define their
responsibilities. !irst, as a consequence of the professionali9ation of multiple taskspreviously carried out in nontechnical or private spheres, an enormous differentiation of new
roles individuals can take in our society. Science and engineering itself provide modest
illustration, as it has broadened its functional speciali9ations from research, development,design, and construction to include production, operation, management, and even sales
engineers: and its content speciali9ation to include biomechanical engineering, biomedical
engineering, biochemical engineering, nanoengineering, and more. Stepping outside thetechnical fields, the unfortunate reductio ad absurdum in this trend is the roleprofessionali9ation of virtually every workrelated activity) janitors become maintenance
professionals, friendship becomes professional grief counseling, one hires professional
personal trainers to help one get the right e$ercise, etc. 3lthough this development isprimarily manifest as the quantitative proliferation of roles, it inevitably has qualitative
implications.;
Second, and in parallel, the area for which an individual may be held responsible has
been narrowed, as may be illustrated with an e$ample from the sciences that would applyequally well to engineering. 'n the 1--s there were natural philosophers who pursued
natural science. 'n the 1
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geographically. This means, practically, that responsibility is more identified with a role than
with a person, thereby complicating the responsible organi9ation of professional tasks while
significantly diminishing technical professional ethical commitments not to mentionloyalty.
!ourth, contemporary society is not only characteri9ed by the differentiation of roles
but also by the intensified institutionali9ation of the socialinstitutional spheres in which the
role differentiation takes place. Science, engineering, economics, education, politics, art,religion, and more have all become so institutionally distinct that they largely determine the
conditions for their own functioning. +egulation, insofar as it occurs, must increasingly take
place internally within each sphere. Scientists regulate science, engineers engineering,economists the economy, and so on.
3s a result of this fourdimensional transformation of role differentiation space,
technical roles may be said to have become increasingly less robust at the same time that
opportunities for role conflict have only intensified, proliferated, and speciali9ed, withindividuals more freely floating between roles, although large role aggregates are more
rigidly separated from each other than ever before in history. The result is a multifacetedundermining of that very role responsibility which has been the traditional basis of socialorder and for which it is dubious that principle responsibility alone is able to compensate.
3lthough roles are increasingly central to the functioning of technoscientific society,
technical responsibility, while continuing to be framed in terms of roles, is progressively
weakened in the moral sense. 0uring the last half of the -th century in contemporarytechnological societies, professional roles gained such prominence that, together with their
associated e$pectations and codes of conduct, they constitute one of the major foundations of
contemporary ethical problems and dilemmas. /specially the role responsibility of e$ecuting
assigned tasks from superiors has, outside of professional philosophy, become an importantethical issue of the -th century.
3s was most dramatically demonstrated in the 1@A trial of 3dolf /ichmann, strict
adherence to role responsibility easily leads to an almost banal immorality.B 0uring the trial,
/ichmann defended himself by appealing to his role as chief administrator of the masse$ecution of 4ews during %ord %ar '', pointing out that his responsibilities were limited to
administrative tasks in a hierarchy in which he had to fulfil the orders and follow the
instructions given to him by superiors. 3lthough the /ichmann case is e$ceptionallyhorrifying, the kind of appeal he made is not so e$ceptional at all, as 6annah 3rendt
documented in her famous book on the /ichmann case) for her the case documented the
banality of evil, e.g. a type of ethics we all as ordinary citi9ens sometimes seem to refer to8.
B. See, e.g., 6annah 3rendt, Eichmann in "erusalem# A Re$ort on the %anality of Evil"5ew ?ork)*iking, 1@A;#.
8 +ecent historical research has contested 6annah 3rendtCs findings. 3ccording to this branch ofresearch, /ichmann apparently was very =motivated= to do evil things and 6annah 3rendt had
underestimated the fact that /ichmann would justify his deeds in different manner than in their
original conte$t. ?et, ' believe that 6annah 3rendt argument on the =ethics of role responsibility= isat least not devalued for other conte$ts and represents still a major insight in moral thought.
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+epeatedly individuals in technoscientific and contemporary management positions
find themselves resorting to a line of reasoning to justify their behaviour, not that dissimilar
to /ichmannCs attempt to demonstrate the normality of his behaviour in the conte$t of ahierarchical administrative process. 'ndividuals may find themselves, in accordance with
which role they identify themselves with, "partly# responsible for particular consequences but
not for the whole overallprocess. The assignment of blame to particular individuals "as inthe /ichmann case# is a more difficult case to make in comple$ scientifictechnological
matters. The widely studies (hallenger disaster of 1@
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with the underlying social orders or the development of normative responses to the
occupational responsibility problem itself.
'nterdisciplinary studies of the ethics of science and technology nevertheless regularlyhighlight the e$tent to which people increasingly feel inadequate to deal will the comple$
moral dilemmas in which role responsibility places them. The more common phenomenon,
in the face of /ichmannlike situations, is not /ichmannlike self justification, but what
3ustrian philosopher unter 3nders might associate with the doubts and guilt manifested by=6iroshima bomber pilot= (laude /artherly.11 &ut was /artherly really responsibleG %hat
about 4. +obert Hppenheimer, the leader of the scientists and engineers who designed the
bombG Hr what about 2resident 6arry Truman, who ordered the bomb droppedG Hr2resident !ranklin +oosevelt, who established the Manhattan 2rojectG Hr even /nrico !ermi
and 3lbert /instein, who wrote the 1@;@ letter to +oosevelt that called attention to the
possibility of an atomic bombG I
The very comple$ity of the atomic bomb project calls into question any attempt toaccept personal responsibility for the results. ?et certainly Hppenheimer and many other
atomic scientists e$perienced some guilt, and their concerns led to the kinds of publicactivism illustrated by the founding of the !ederation of 3tomic "later 3merican# Scientistsand the creation of the%ulletin of Atomic Scientists. 3ndersC parado$ical critique and idealistcall for e$panding human powers of imagination and responsibility1 is but the more
philosophical manifestation of that intensification and multiplication of moral dilemmas
which has led many people to feel that various issues are at once their responsibility and>orbeyond their role competencies. The familiar notinmybackyard "5'M&?# syndrome in
response to industrial construction or waste disposal and personal refusals to limit the
consumption of high pollution consumer goods such as automobiles are but two sides of thesame coin.
%hat thus emerges from our description of this fourdimensional transformation of
the technical role responsibility space and the three attempts to respond to such atransformation is the picture of a society in which there is an imbalance in the relationbetween the individualCs responsibility for a particular and temporary role and the collective
responsibility which is represented by the simultaneous fulfilment of great number of roles
1-. Hne prominent synthesis of such approaches has become known as the Science, Technology, andSociety "STS# movement. !or a good introduction to STS, see Stephen 6. (utcliffe, &deas'(achines' and )alues# An &ntroduction to STS Studies"Danham, M0) +owman and Dittlefield, ---:and Stephen 6. (utcliffe and (arl Mitcham, eds., )isions of STS# *onte+tuali,ing Science'Technology' and Society Studies"3lbany, 5?) State Eniversity of 5ew ?ork 2ress, --1.
11 (laude /artherly and unter 3nders, %urning *onscience"5ew ?ork) Monthly +eview 2ress,1@A1#. 'n fact, /atherly was not the pilot of the plane that dropped the 6iroshima atomic bomb on3ugust A, 1@B8. The pilot of that plane, the Enola -ay, was 2aul Tibbets, and his bombardierThomas !erebee, neither of whom ever e$pressed any regret about his role. /artherly was the piolot
of a reconnaissance place that preceded the Enola -ayand gave the go ahead. Juestions have alsobeen raised about the reality of /artheryCs feelings, but he still stands as a symbol for a certain kind of
response.
1 unter 3nders,!ie Anti.uierheit des (enschen, vols. "Munich) &eck, 1@
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for the longterm. This is illustrated by the fact that in increasing numbers of instances it is
impossible, even in a hierarchically structured technical professional system to assign to any
one person responsibility for solving some particular problem. %ho or what role isresponsible for nuclear weapons proliferationG !or stratospheric o9one depletionG !or
global climate changeG 'ndeed, who or what role is responsible for even such mundane
problems as traffic congestionG !or the malfunctioning of my computerG !or the presenceof unlabelled genetically modified foods in grocery storesG The chance that any one
individual can be identified as responsible for the consequences of our collective actions
within and between the myriad systems and subsystems of the technoscientific world hasbecome infinite small. 'nstead, in most instances it is increasingly the case that some form of
coresponsibility for a collective organi9ation and action leading to consequences "both
intended and unintended# is operative. 3t the same time, such collective coresponsibility is
difficult to grasp and elusive: it often seems as difficult to pin down as individual,organi9ation, or even single that might be held accountable for scientific and engineering
developments.
3. F#$% I)) R$( R(+$+)7))& &$ C$(*&)( C$-#(+$+)7))&13
' have described, in an admittedly summary manner but with some empirical
references, a society in which it is difficult for anyone to be held responsible for the
consequences of many technoscientific actions. %e rely on a theory of occupational roleresponsibility that is no longer in harmony with e$isting social reality, in response to which
we commonly propose an alternative and e$panded notion of role responsibility. The fact is
that the consequences of a wide variety of collective actions cannot be reconstructed from theintentions of responsible individuals, and role responsibility ethics can bear only on the
consequences of individually and intentionally planned actions.
'ndividuals assume responsibility for the consequences of their actions if and only if
they can intentionally direct those actions and reasonably assess the consequences, bothintended and unintended. "Enintended consequences may on some occasions be effectively
covered by insurance, as with automobile insurance.# &ut the consequences of scientific
discovery and engineering design often escape all common or natural means of assessment.
Science and engineering e$ist, in the first instance, within the scientific andtechnological systems and, subsequently, by means of a complicated transformation and use,
are transplanted into the systemspecific logics of the economy, politics, and law. 5one of
these system logics are traceable to the intentions of individuals, nor are the possible
unintended consequences always assessable. Scientists who have knowledge that leads to
applications which are then critici9ed by many in society, may rightly point out that theyanticipated other applications. /ngineers who design products, processes, or systems that
wind up actually being used in a variety of ways "guns that kill people as well as protectthem, for e$ample# make the same argument. Scientists and engineers may even claim that
1; FarlHtto 3pel has tried to develop a philosophical justification for such an ethics" see especiallyhis book =0iskurs und *erantwortung= "1@@
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the possible applications and>or uses are not part of their occupational role responsibilities as
scientists or engineers. 'n another sense, the scope of the ethics of engineers is a different
one, than the responsibility for simple applications as such. !or instance, a responsibility forthe specification of particular technical standards for productsafety and efficacy rather than
for the complete implementation of all kinds of requirements for a particular endproduct.
%hat is clearly required is thus some transformed notion of responsibility beyond the simplemultiplication of roles or the e$pansion of occupational role responsibility to encompass
public safety, health, and welfare. 'ndeed, technoscientific applications can remain ethically
problematic even in cases where scientists and engineers have the best possible intentionsand users have not conscious intention to misuse or abuse. This situation constitutes the
major ethical challenge we face today.
6ow are we to address the problematic consequences of collective actionG
Technological risks are e$amples of special concern. The nature of many technological risksis far beyond the framework of individual responsibility. Such risks arise, as (harles 2errow
has argued, as a consequence of an interaction of semiindependent systems, many of which
may themselves be in part so comple$ as to be outside direct control. 1B "Think of the
e$amples of the economy or the legal system as well as those of the various sciences andfields of engineering.# Such risks often cannot even be constrained within the dimensions of
some particular time and place, which makes the identification of possible victims
impossible. !or such risks it is thus not even possible to take out insurance. Many of thetechnological risks in our society have the same status as natural catastrophes.18
'n response to this problem, we would need an ethics of collective coresponsibility.
The itemi9ed inadequacies of occupational role point precisely in this direction. Such a
collective ethics of coresponsibility arises from reflection on the social processes in whichtechnological decision making is embedded. "'t may even be interpreted as involving a
renewed appreciation of (iceroCs fourfold root of role responsibility.# That is, any new
ethics must deal with the same substance as the old role responsibility ethics, namely withvalues and norms that restrict or delimit human action and thus enable or guide traditional
decision making: but in the new ethics these values and norms will arise not simply in
relation to occupational roles and their allocation to particular individuals. 6ere it isappropriate to address at least four general features and requirements for the implementation
of such an ethics, from which ' can only elaborate the fourth features in more detail here.
1. 2ublic debate) To be co/res$onsible includes being $ersonally res$onsive . 't isclear that the norms of specific technical professions are insufficient because they arise fromrestricted perspectives. 3 true ethics of coresponsibility must be both interdisciplinary and
even intercultural, in order to provide a standard of justice for evaluating and balancing
conflicting occupational role responsibilities. 'f we fail to provide such an ethics, we
inevitably continue to aggravate the clash of cultures and unarticulated hostile responses toparticular "globali9ed# technologies.
1B (harles 2errow, 0ormal Accidents# 1iving with igh/Ris3 Technologies "5ew ?ork) &asic&ooks, 1@
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3ccording to my view, an ethics of collective coresponsibility is e$pressed at the
level of free "international# public debate in which all should participate. 't is unethical and
even unreasonable to make any one individual responsible for the consequences and>or"adverse# side effects of our collective "especially technological# actions. 't is, however,
ethical and reasonable to have the e$pectation that informed and concerned individuals
engage in the participation in public debates "subject, of course, to the particular situation#, orat least make this the default position for which persons must give reasons for being e$cused
from such a duty. Epon everyoneCs shoulders rests a particular moral obligation to engage in
the collective debate that shapes the conte$t for collective decision making. 't is not justengineers who do social e$perimentation: in some sense all human beings are engineers
insofar as they are caught up in and committed to the modern project.
'f we trace, for instance, the history of environmental challenges, we see that many
issues which depend on the involvement of personally responsible professionals were firstidentified and articulated within the public sphere. 2ublic deliberation does not primarily
aim at creating of itself a reasonable consensus, but serves, among others, the function of
presenting different relevant issues to the more or less autonomous systems and subsystems
of society that is, to politics, law, science, etc. The typically independent discourses ofpolitics, law, science, etc. are called upon to respond to issues raised in public debate. 3n
appropriate response by the appropriate subsystem to publicly identified and articulated
issues constitutes a successful socioethical response. (onversely, responsiblerepresentatives of the subsystems are drivers for new debates, when they publici9e particular
aspects of an issue that cannot be fruitfully resolved within the limits of some speciali9ed
discourse. The continuous interaction between the autonomous subsystem discourses and acritically aware public provides an antidote for fro9en societal contradictions between
opposing interests, stakeholders, or cultural prejudices.
. Technology assessment) To be collectively co/res$onsible involves develo$ing
trans$ersonal assessment mechanisms. 3lthough the institution of the public realm andinteractions with the professionali9ed subsystems makes it possible for individuals to be coresponsive, these deliberations are in many cases insufficiently specific for resolving the
challenges with which technological development confront us that is, they do not alwayslead to the implementation of sufficiently robust national or international policies. Therefore
all kinds of specific deliberative procedures for instance deliberative technology
assessment procedures must be established to complement general public debate and to
provide an interface between a particular subsystem and the political decisionmakingprocess. The widely discussed consensusconferences are one e$ample of an interface
between science and politics.1A"Hf course, the question remains here, whether this type of
interfaces are the adequate ones#.
1A. See '. Mayer, !ebating Technologies# A (ethodological *ontribution to the !esign andEvaluation of Partici$atory Policy Analysis"Tilburg, 5etherlands, Tilburg Eniversity 2ress, 1@@#:and '. Mayer and 4. eurts, =(onsensus (onferences as 2articipatory 2olicy 3nalysis) 3
Methodological (ontribution to the Social Management of Technology,= in 2. %heale, +ene von
Schomberg, and 2. lasner, eds., The Social (anagement of -enetic Engineering "3ldershot,/ngland) 3shgate, 1@@
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The implementation of ethics codes by corporations also constitutes an interface
between the economic sector, science, and stakeholder interest groups, while national ethics
committees are often meant as intermediaries between the legal and political system./$periments with such boundary activities or associations have been, depending on the case,
more or less successful. They represent important e$periments for enabling citi9ens to act as
coresponsible agents in the conte$t of technological decision making. ?et the absence ofadequately deliberative forums is certainly one reason why we are not yet able to
democratically plan our technological developments
;. (onstitutional change) *ollective co/res$onsibility may eventually entailconstitutional change. The initiation of specifically new forms of public debate and thedevelopment of transpersonal science and technology assessment processes may eventually
require constitutional adjustment. 'ndeed, the adaptation of specific deliberative principles in
our constitutions must not be ruled out.
(onsider, for instance, the possible implementation of the precautionary principle,which is inscribed in the /uropean Treaty and now also guides important international
environmental deliberations "the Fyoto 2rotocol on (limate (hange, the &iosafety 2rotocol,etc.#. This principle lowers the threshold at which governments may take action and possiblyintervene in the scientific or technological innovation process. The principle can be invoked
if there is a reasonable concern for harm to human health and or the environment, in the light
of persisting scientific uncertainty or lack of scientific consensus. The very implementation
of such a principle requires new and badly needed intermediate deliberative sciencepolicystructures1. 't imposes an obligation to continue to seek scientific evidence and enables also
an ongoing interaction with the public on the acceptability of the plausible adverse effects
and the chosen level of protection. The principle gives an incentive for companies to becomemore proactive and necessarily shapes their technoscientific research programs in specific
ways.
B. !oresight and Fnowledge assessment. The issue of unintentional consequences canbe traced back among others to the "principle# limited capacity of the scientific system toknow in advance the consequences of scientific discoveries and technological actions.
*irtually all comple$ technological innovations, from which our societies do benefit, are
surrounded by scientific uncertainties and several degrees of ignorance. 'nstead of addressingthe ethics of technology, it could therefore be more appropriate to address the =ethics= of
knowledge transfer between our societal spheres such as the knowledge transfer between
science and policy. 3s the =quality of the knowledge= will, by large, determine our relativesuccesses in using this knowledge in the conte$t of all kinds of possible applications. 3t the
same time, we do constantly need a form of foresight "as predictions about our future have
been shown to be enormously imperfect# in which we evaluate the quality of our knowledge
1 See my contribution =The precautionary principle and its normative challenges= in) &m$lementingthe Precautionary Princi$le Pers$ectives and Pros$ects/lisabeth !isher, 4udith 4ones and +ene vonSchomberg, (heltenham, EF and 5orthampton, M3, ES) /dward /lgar, --A. This volume give an
overview of the "prospective# implementation of the precautionary principle in various scientifictechnological fields in /urope, ES and 3ustralia.
1;
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base and try to early identify societal problems and new knowledge needs. 'n the ne$t section
' will analyse the normative elements of "foresight# knowledge assessment1
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1. !oresight knowledge is non/verifiable56 in nature since it does not give arepresentation of an empirical reality. 't can, therefore, also not be related to the
normal use for the Lpredictability of events. The quality of foresight knowledge isdiscussed in terms of its plausibility rather than in terms of the accuracy of the
predictability of certain events. !oresight e$ercises are therefore often characterised
as Le$plorative in nature and not meant to produce nonverifiable predictions:
. !oresight knowledge has a high degree of uncertainty and comple$ity wherebyuncertainties e$ist concerning particular causal relationships and their relevance for
the issue of concern
;. !oresight knowledge thematises usually a coherent vision whereby relevant
knowledge includes an anticipation of Lthe unknown:
B. !oresight knowledge has an actionoriented perspective "identification of
threats>challenges>opportunities and the relevance of knowledge for a particular issue#
whereby normalscientific knowledge lacks such an orientation.
8. !oresight knowledge shares a typical hermeneutic dimension of the social sciencesand the humanities, whereby the available knowledge is subject to continuous
interpretation "e.g. visions of Lthe future or what can account for a Lfuture are
typical e$amples of such an hermeneutic dimension#:
A. !oresight knowledge is more than futureoriented research) it combines normativetargets with socioeconomic feasibility and scientific plausibility:
. !oresight knowledge is by definition multidisciplinary in nature and very often
combines the insights of social and natural sciences.
!oresight knowledge can be understood as a form of Lstrategic knowledge necessary for
agenda setting, opinion formation and vision development and problemsolving. 'n the case
of underpinning the objective of sustainable development, rOnwald-
has captured thecharacteristics of Lstrategic knowledge for sustainable development, in which many of the
above mentioned general aspects of foresight knowledge reappear, in the following threestatements)
strategic knowledge, as a scientific contribution to sustainable development, consists
out of targeted and conte$tsensitive combinations of e$planatory knowledge about
phenomena observed, of orientation knowledge evaluative judgements, and of action
1@ ' am aware of course that also for current knowledgeparadigms the terms =verification= and=falsification= may not reflect the most recent views in the philosophy of science when it comes to the
evaluation of these knowledgeparadigms: here these terms are only used to make the point that anyof those or alternative terms, would not be applicable for knowledge bases which refer to the future,
and that we are not preoccupied with the possible =truth= value of foresight activities.
- runwald, 3. "--B# PStrategic Fnowledge for Sustainable 0evelopment) The 5eed for+efle$ivity and Dearning at the 'nterface between Science and SocietyK, &nternational "ournal ofForesight and &nnovation Policy, 1.1Q) 18-A
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guiding knowledge with regard to strategic decisions "compare the aspects B,8 and
above#:
this strategic knowledge is necessarily provisional and incomplete in its descriptive
aspects, as well as dependent on changing societal normative concepts in itsevaluative aspects "compare aspects and A above#:
dealing with strategic knowledge of this sort in societal fields of application leads to a
great need for reflection on the premises and uncertainties of knowledge itself.
+efle$ivity and the learning processes building upon it become decisive features inproviding strategic knowledge for sustainable development "relates to aspects 1 and ;
above#.
5. F$#(+)/'& D()7(#&)$
!oresight activities should be adapted to processes of deliberative democracy of modernwestern societies. 0eliberation goes obviously beyond the meaning of simple discussions
concerning a particular subject matter, and in its broadest meaning can be understood as Lfree
and public reasoning among equals "(ohen, 1@@B#1.
0eliberation takes place at the interface of different spheres, as we will see for e$ample whenwe deliberate on the basis of foresight knowledge. 'n this section, ' especially e$plore the
deliberations that take place at the policy making level and at the sciencepolicy interface.
The deliberation levels that relate to particular spheres, such as Lpolitics, Lscience or
Lpolicy, can be characterised by specific normative boundaries. The specific outcomes fromeach deliberation level can be fed into other levels of deliberation, which are constrained by
yet another set of distinct normative boundaries. Most often these boundaries are not simple
consensual assumptions, justly shared by the actors involved, but may be fundamental policyor constitutional principles which are the result of longer learning processes and which have
to be shared in order to achieve particular quality standards of policies and decisions. !or
instance, deliberation on risks and safety under product authorisation procedures within the/uropean Enion are guided by the policy objective, which is enshrined in the /E treaty, to
aim at a high level of protection of the /uropean citi9en.
&elow, ' will outline the normative boundaries of the different levels of deliberation "see
table 1# within which foresight activities are invoked, implemented or applied. 't should benoted that the different levels of deliberation do neither represent a hierarchy nor necessarily
a chronological sequence, as deliberation levels mutually inform and refer to each other,
deliberation at each particular level, can spark new deliberation at other levels.%e work here on the basis of e$amples of a most advanced form of embedded foresightintegrated in a wider policy conte$t. %hat follows is an idealtype of description of all
relevant deliberation levels in relation to the use of foresight knowledge "although there are
striking similarities with the usage of "scientific# knowledge in policy as such#. Theorists of
1 (ohen, 4 "--B#. 2rocedure and Substance in 0eliberative 0emocracy in S.&enhabib "ed.#0emocracy and 0ifference. 2rinceton, 5ew 4ersey, 2rinceton Eniversity 2ress.
1A
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deliberative democracy work on the clarification of particular levels of deliberation within
particular spheres of society. 5eblo"--B# describes levels of public deliberation in terms
of Ldeliberative breakdown. !isher; "--;# and 0ry9ekB "1@@-# describe procedures ofdiscursive politics. rin et al "--B#8 defines particular deliberations as practices ofLrefle$ive design. %e will here elaborate the levels relevant for deliberating foresight
knowledge for public policy.
The very first level concerns a broad $olitical deliberation, which assumes a politicalconsensus on the need for longterm planning when it engages in foresight e$ercises.
3t that broad political level, foresight will be understood as a form for early anticipation and
identification of threats, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us. !oresight e$ercises
are essentially about the identification of such threats>challenges>opportunities. 't is therebyimportant to realise that, for instance, a Technology !oresight e$ercise identifies technologiesor other developments that may have an important impact, rather than assessing those
technologies themselves)
7The act of identification is an e+$ression of o$inion"italics) by authors of this paper# "whichamounts to a form of implicit, covert assessment, the assessment of the relative importance ofthe technologies identified must necessarily follow their identification8"Doveridge, --B)p.@#.
Those Lopinions are unavoidably normative in nature, and do not relate directly to theassessment of the technology but rather to the assessment of their potential with regards to
particular perceived or actual threats>challenges and opportunities. 3 proper foresight
e$ercise should therefore make these dimensions e$plicit in order to feed a deliberationprocess on asoundbasis before achieving final conclusions. !oresight e$ercises need to referto widely shared objectives "for instance those in international treaties and constitutions# such
as the objective of sustainable development with its recognised three pillars "social,
economic and environmental# in order to embed the broad political conte$t. !oresighte$ercises can also be built on more controversial assumptions, yet those e$ercises may have a
function of stimulating and informing a broader public debate rather than aiming at particular
policies and or actions. !oresight e$ercises can be invo3ed at this political level ofdeliberation.
5eblo, M.3. "--B#. Thin3ing through !emocracy! !eliberative Politics in Theory 9 Practice"2aper presented at the (onference on L/mpirical 3pproaches to 0eliberative 2olitics /uropean
Eniversity 'nstitute, !iren9e, 1 May --B
; !ischer, !. "--;#. Reframing Public Policy !iscursive Politics and !eliberative Practices.H$ford) H$ford Eniversity 2ress
B 0ry9ek, 4.S. "1@@-#.!iscursive democracy# $olitics'$olicy' and$oliticalscience' (ambridge)(ambridge Eniversity 2ress
8rin, 4., !eli$, !., &os &. and Spoelstra S. "--B#. 2ractices for refle$ive design) lessons from a0utch programme on sustainable agriculture,&nt " Foresight and &nnovation Policy. *ol 1. 5os 1> ,pp.1A1B@.
1
http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=Discursivehttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=Discursivehttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=democracyhttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politics,http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politics,http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=policy,http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politicalhttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politicalhttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=sciencehttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=sciencehttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=Discursivehttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=democracyhttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politics,http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=policy,http://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=politicalhttp://picarta.pica.nl/DB=2.4/SET=1/TTL=8/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=science -
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3t a second level, one can identify deliberation at the$olicy level which immediately buildsupon outcomes of political deliberation. 't will need to map and identify those challenges>
threats and opportunities which are "in#consistent with more particular shared objectives,such as a high level of protection of consumers and the environment, sustainable growth and
economic competitiveness. 3t this level a policy framework needs to be agreed upon for the
implementation of foresight in a broad sense, at least by identifying institutions and actorswhich will take charge of foresight e$ercises. 3 number of countries have institutions, such
as particular councils, committees or assessment institutes for those tasks in place.. Such
institutions can then plan studies which are part of the foresight e$ercise and can includeactivities such as "sustainability# impact studies, costbenefit analysis, S%HT analysis,
scenario studies etc. These studies should outline scenarios, challenges and threats and verify
its consistency with relevant drivers for change.
3 third deliberation level, the science:$olicy interface, is of particular interest since itqualifies the input of a diverse range of knowledge inputs, e.g. those of the scientific
community, stakeholders and possibly the public at large by a$$lying foresight "scenarioworkshops, foresight techniques>studies>panels etc#.
3t the science>policy interface, the state of affairs in science needs to be identified in relationto the identified relevant threats>challenges and opportunities. 3 particular task lies in the
qualification of the available information by formulating statements on the available
information in terms of sufficiency and adequacy Q a preliminary form of Knowledgeassessment. The identification of knowledge gaps is a particular task to sort out the state ofaffairs in science, possibly leading to later recommendations for further scientific studies to
close those gaps. 3lso, depending on the timelines during which those decisions should be
made, particular decision procedures for situations under conditions of uncertainty need to betaken into account. %hen communicating the results of the science>policy interface to the
policy and political level, the proper handling of uncertainty has to be taken care of, and
failure to do so have often lead to disqualifications of the used scientific knowledge atpolitical level and in public debate. %ith uncertain knowledge, particular assumptions must
be made as to whether particular consequences pose in fact a threat to us or not. !or e$ample)
do we see 1, or three degrees temperature rise as unacce$tableconsequence in terms ofclimate changeG 0o we think a ; percent increase on public and private investments in
science and technology by -1- would make our economy sufficiently competitiveG These
assumptions represent Ltransformable norms, as their acceptability changes in the light of
ongoing new scientific findings. !or instance, an initially assumed acceptable normativetarget of a global two degrees temperature rise may turn unacceptable when new scientific
findings indicate to more serious consequences than previously thought. 5ew knowledge
about these issues leads to continuous reframing, making foresight and monitoring practices
necessary partners.
1
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From the Ethics of Technology towards an Ethics of Knowledge Policy and Knowledge Assessment
Table 5 !eliberation levels involving the $rogressive invocation' a$$lication and im$lementation of;foresight< 3nowledge with its normative boundaries.
normative boundary
of deliberation level
Type of
operational
normative
rationale
!actors>normative considerations
to be taken into account
5ormative
decision modi
&road political
debate
2olitical
consensus on
long term
planning
&nvocation of ForesightThreats>challenges>opportunities
: normative reference points)
Three pillars of Sustainabledevelopment> Disbon>&arcelona
/arly
anticipation>identification
(hoice of
Sustainable
0evelopment
targets and
challenges
3im at high level
of protection
3im at
sustainable
growth
'mprove quality
of life
6igh Devel of protection
Sustainable growth,
competitiveness
0efining>mapping
Threats and (hallenges
2olitical>societal (hoice of policy
framework
&m$lementation offoresight
3llocation of tasks to
!oresight
institutions>involvement
of parties
&road policy
debate
cost>benefit
analysis
impact analysis
6ealth>environment takes
precedence over economic
considerations
2riority setting>selection
e.g. minimalising costs,
ma$amilising benefits,
priority to health etc
Type of measures /nabling
Monitoring
practice
2roportionality requirement measures to enable
Monitoring practice,
Dearning practice
development ofindicators>benchmarking
5ormative
qualification of
the scientific
debate
'dentification of
state of affairs in
science>normative
qualification of
knowledge
'dentification of
knowledge gaps
2articular threats>challenges>
opportunities
A$$lication of foresight
5ormative qualification
of available information.
+elating the quality of
available information to
'mportance of challenges
etc
5ormative
approach to
dealing with
threats>challenges> opportunities
'dentification of
transformable
standards, ;
percent target, etcscientific and
technological
options
"Endefined# normative standards
for acceptability, safety etc of
products>processes
Ethical deliberation
(hoice of ethical
principles,
(hoice of transformable
standards) growth rates,sustainability targets,
e.g.reduction of
biodiversity, acceptable
levels of temperature
rise , levels of use of
renewables etc
1@
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6. D()7(#&)$ $ ( &(*'$$/)(+! $&(*'$$/" *$(#/)/
&(*'$$/)(+
'n this section ' will use the e$ample of nanotechnology to illustrate the deliberation levelsdescribed above. 't can give us an indication how those deliberation levels should further
materialise in the case of nanotechnology in the future.
3mong others, the following ethical issues of nanotechnology and converging technology
have been identifiedA)
+espect for fundamental ethical principles "/E charter for !undamental +ights etc#
+ights of access to information, protection of personal data "in the conte$t of medical
and security applications#
0ual use of technology "e.g. military use, use by terrorists#
'ssues of human dignity) of '(T implants in the human body which raises) non
therapeutic human enhancement, shifting selfimages of human beings once theborderline between machine and human biology may fade in future manmachine
interactions.
Surveillance society issues "availability of nanotractors, nanocameraCsG#, balance of
privacy, limits to personal freedom, and security
5ondiscrimination and equity) The ethical principle that everybody should have fair
access to the benefits under consideration. The fear for a nanotechdivide with the
developing world
/arly identification for the susceptibility for diseases without prospects of cure or
medication The ethics of riskassessment) which risks are deemed to be acceptable in terms of
ha9ards for human health and environmental pollution, how do distinguish between
risks, individuals voluntary take and collective risksG
The issue of particular technologies, presented as a =hype= in the public sphere, "and
its consequences for the funding of research and research priority setting# and theoften associated technological optimism that particular problems can be solved
"only# by technological means
My point on the ethics of knowledge assessment becomes now more concrete while applying
it to the issue of nanotechnology and converging technologies. ' don not want to go here in
AThis =list= is obviously not =complete=. 3 more comprehensive overview of all ethical issuesconcerning nanotechnology is discussed in the working document reporting on the outcomes of the
clustering workshop on the ethics of nanotechnologies of the overnance and /thics Enit of 0research" see also footnote A# "forthcoming early --#. &ut see also the e$cellent work of 3lfred
5ordmann in this field) 3. 5ordmann, 0avis &aird and 4oachim Schummer "eds.# !iscovering the0anoscale "3msterdam) 'HS 2ress, --B, ;1pp.# and 3. 5ordmann, 4oachim Schummer and 3stridSchwar9 "eds.# 0anotechnologien im Konte+t# Philoso$hische' ethische und gesellschaftlichePers$e3tiven "&erlin) 3kademische *erlagsanstalt, --A, B;;pp.#
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From the Ethics of Technology towards an Ethics of Knowledge Policy and Knowledge Assessment
taking position on the substance of those issues. The overriding ethical issue here is perhaps,
not the substance behind each of above mentioned issues, for instance on how we will define
the issues of privacy and confidentiality, but the crucial question will be who will decide'under which $rocedures' on what issue and within which timeframe= Furthermore# how theethical issues will be addressed under those $rocedures and seen as relevant for the further
RT! $rocess owever' in order to establish the relevance of the ethical issues' it is ofcrucial im$ortance that our ;foresight< 3nowledge concerning the develo$ment of technologyis ade.uate or more ade.uate=
Therefore, it is necessary to have deliberative procedures in place which allow for
comprehensive, democratic decision making at the right point in time. &elow ' will tryoutline in an admittedly sketchy manner, where we are, when it comes to =feeding= the
different deliberation levels as they are mentioned in the overview with regard to
nanotechnology.
' believe that in comparison with earlier technological developments such as nucleartechnology and even biotechnology, the =political deliberation level= was initiated at a
relative early point) The need of addressing ethical and societal implications of nanomedicineis stated in the E> strategy on nanotechnology adopted by the /uropean (ommission in--B. The aforementioned 0ocument advocates that)
0anotechnology must be develo$ed in a safe and res$onsible manner Ethical $rinci$lesmust be adhered to and $otential health' safety or environmental ris3s scientifically studied'also in order to $re$are for $ossible regulation
Ethical $rinci$les must be res$ected and' where a$$ro$riate' enforced through regulationThese $rinci$les are embodied in the Euro$ean *harter of Fundamental Rights and otherEuro$ean and other international documents ;?< The relevance of such $rinci$les towardshuman and non/human a$$lications of nanotechnology should be understood &n addition'
certain a$$lications' eg miniaturised sensors' may have s$ecific im$lications for the$rotection of $rivacy and $ersonal data
The 3ction 2lan =5anosciences and nanotechnologies) 3n action plan for /urope --8
--@= "(HM"--8# B;#.adopted by the /( in the th 4une --8# states that)
The *ommission will#
a< Ensure that *ommunity funded R9! in 090 continues to be carried out in a res$onsiblemanner eg via the use of ethical reviews Possible ethical issues for 090 include eg non/thera$eutic human enhancement' invasion of $rivacy due to invisible sensors Theintegration of ethical concerns' innovation research and social sciences into 090 R9! willhel$ build confidence in decision/ma3ing related to the governance of 090 ;See
ft$#::ft$cordislu:$ub:nanotechnology:docs:nano@action@$lan2B@en$dfncertainty and!ecision (a3ing. 0ordrecht) Fluwer 3cademic 2ublishers.
Schomberg. + von, 3. uimaraes 2ereira and S !untowic9 "--8#, !eliberating ForesightKnowledge for Policy and Foresight Knowledge Assessment, 3 working document from the/uropean (ommission Services, 0irectorate eneral for +esearch, &russels
Schomberg, +. von "--A#. =The precautionary principle and its normative challenges= in)
&m$lementing the Precautionary Princi$le Pers$ectives and Pros$ects /lisabeth !isher,4udith 4ones and +ene von Schomberg, (heltenham, EF and 5orthampton, M3, ES)
/dward /lgar, --A.
E5/S(H "--A#. The ethics and $olitics of 0anotechnology, 2aris
*aughan, 0 "1@@A#. The *hallenger 1aunch !ecision# Ris3y Technology' *ulture' and!eviance at 0ASA, (hicago) Eniversity of (hicago 2ress.