Risk and Fear: Restricting Science under Uncertainty.
The catastrophic risks posed by new technologies such as killer robots and geoengineering have triggered calls for halting new research. Arguments for restricting research typically have a slippery‐slope structure: Researching A will lead to deployment; we have decisive moral reasons against deploym...
| Published in: | Journal of Applied Philosophy Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 444 - 461 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Jul2021
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=151470871&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 151470871 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 02643758 BQ0 jtl: Journal of Applied Philosophy issn: 02643758 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2021 vid: 38 iid: 3 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 151470871 10.1111/japp.12484 ppf: 444 ppct: 17 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 139KB tig: atl: Risk and Fear: Restricting Science under Uncertainty. aug: au: Pamuk, Zeynep affil: Department of Political Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla CA, 92093, , USA su: Uncertainty Human experimentation Moral reasoning Anxiety Fear sug: subj: Uncertainty Human experimentation Moral reasoning Anxiety Fear ab: The catastrophic risks posed by new technologies such as killer robots and geoengineering have triggered calls for halting new research. Arguments for restricting research typically have a slippery‐slope structure: Researching A will lead to deployment; we have decisive moral reasons against deployment; therefore, we should not research A. However, scientific uncertainty makes it difficult to prove or disprove the conclusion of slippery‐slope arguments. This article accepts this indeterminacy and asks whether and when it would be permissible to restrict research under empirical and normative uncertainty. The argument starts from the ethical framework for the regulation of scientific research with human subjects and offers modifications to adapt it to the purpose of restricting new technologies. Two main questions arise in the process: whether it is permissible to impose restrictions at the research stage to prevent harms that will arise from the use of a technology and whether it is permissible to restrict research preemptively on the grounds of public fear and anxiety, before there is sufficient evidence establishing the risk of harm. I answer both questions in the affirmative and defend this position against objections. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of Applied Philosophy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of Applied Philosophy holder: Wiley-Blackwell dt: @attributes: year: 2021 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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