About 3TU.Ethics
Society’s questions
What if neurological research leads to new technologies that allow recruiters of companies to look ‘directly’ in the mind of applicants? Is the privacy and autonomy of citizens sufficiently warranted now that ICT applications play an increasingly important role in government and how can ethical values be translated in better designed systems? Which risks of nanotechnology and biomedical technology are acceptable and what is the moral relevance of the often highly emotional reactions in public debates about these technologies? Who carries responsibility for research and technological development, now that they often take place in complex networks of numerous organizations, scientists and engineers? These are just a few examples of the many pressing questions that recent developments in engineering and society pose.
Our research
“Innovative work in the philosophy of technology, a relatively new branch of the subject in which Dutch philosophers can claim to be pre-eminent.” Those are the words of an international research evaluation committee in 2006. The research of the three Departments of Philosophy of the Dutch universities of technology was judged to be “excellent”. They have joined their strengths and expertise in this ‘3TU.Centre of Excellence’. Answering above mentioned questions requires not just theoretical reflection, but also linking ethical theory to engineering practice. Socially responsible innovation is therefore one of the key concepts in the activities of the 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology (3TU.Ethics). We feel that already during the development- and design phase of innovation, attention should be paid to social and ethical conditions and consequences. This vision is translated in both our choice of research themes and our intensive collaboration with engineering centers and groups.
