Research themes
Values in engineering and society
This research theme focuses on foundational research, including research on central concepts like values, rationality and moral knowledge, foundational research on how to ground values, and research on shifts in societal values resulting from technological change. Its aim is to provide tools for the other two more practice-oriented research themes.
A range of more concrete topics will be investigated in this theme, to mention some examples:
Moral epistemology
Any rational application of values will have to give answers to questions about the choice of values.
The role of emotions in risk judgments
Empirical research has shown that the general public relies heavily on emotions in judging risks. Engineers and policy makers often conclude from this finding that the public is irrational and should be ignored. Cognitive theories of emotions, however, suggest that people need emotions in order to make rational moral judgments about the acceptability of technological risks. This allows for reconsideration of the role of the public in decision making about technological risks (e.g. ‘informed consent’).
The development of moral values in contemporary society and culture
It has been argued that current technological developments affect values by changing human practices and beliefs, resulting in new conceptions of personhood, autonomy, identity, privacy and accountability. It will be studied how such transformations of values take place.
The role of moral imagination
Engineering is future oriented; it changes our world in often unexpected ways that are morally significant. To identify the relevant developments in an early stage requires moral imagination. One of the objects of inquiry is the usefulness of technical-ethical scenarios.
Projects belonging to this research theme
Back to overview of research themes
