The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Social Aspects, Engineering, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future by Sheila Jasanoff, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sheila Jasanoff ISBN: 9780393253856
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Sheila Jasanoff
ISBN: 9780393253856
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

We live in a world increasingly governed by technology—but to what end?

Technology rules us as much as laws do. It shapes the legal, social, and ethical environments in which we act. Every time we cross a street, drive a car, or go to the doctor, we submit to the silent power of technology. Yet, much of the time, the influence of technology on our lives goes unchallenged by citizens and our elected representatives. In The Ethics of Invention, renowned scholar Sheila Jasanoff dissects the ways in which we delegate power to technological systems and asks how we might regain control.

Our embrace of novel technological pathways, Jasanoff shows, leads to a complex interplay among technology, ethics, and human rights. Inventions like pesticides or GMOs can reduce hunger but can also cause unexpected harm to people and the environment. Often, as in the case of CFCs creating a hole in the ozone layer, it takes decades before we even realize that any damage has been done. Advances in biotechnology, from GMOs to gene editing, have given us tools to tinker with life itself, leading some to worry that human dignity and even human nature are under threat. But despite many reasons for caution, we continue to march heedlessly into ethically troubled waters.

As Jasanoff ranges across these and other themes, she challenges the common assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Technology, she masterfully demonstrates, can warp the meaning of democracy and citizenship unless we carefully consider how to direct its power rather than let ourselves be shaped by it. The Ethics of Invention makes a bold argument for a future in which societies work together—in open, democratic dialogue—to debate not only the perils but even more the promises of technology.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

We live in a world increasingly governed by technology—but to what end?

Technology rules us as much as laws do. It shapes the legal, social, and ethical environments in which we act. Every time we cross a street, drive a car, or go to the doctor, we submit to the silent power of technology. Yet, much of the time, the influence of technology on our lives goes unchallenged by citizens and our elected representatives. In The Ethics of Invention, renowned scholar Sheila Jasanoff dissects the ways in which we delegate power to technological systems and asks how we might regain control.

Our embrace of novel technological pathways, Jasanoff shows, leads to a complex interplay among technology, ethics, and human rights. Inventions like pesticides or GMOs can reduce hunger but can also cause unexpected harm to people and the environment. Often, as in the case of CFCs creating a hole in the ozone layer, it takes decades before we even realize that any damage has been done. Advances in biotechnology, from GMOs to gene editing, have given us tools to tinker with life itself, leading some to worry that human dignity and even human nature are under threat. But despite many reasons for caution, we continue to march heedlessly into ethically troubled waters.

As Jasanoff ranges across these and other themes, she challenges the common assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Technology, she masterfully demonstrates, can warp the meaning of democracy and citizenship unless we carefully consider how to direct its power rather than let ourselves be shaped by it. The Ethics of Invention makes a bold argument for a future in which societies work together—in open, democratic dialogue—to debate not only the perils but even more the promises of technology.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book The Life and Times of Mexico by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Law for Architects: What You Need to Know by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book The Comfort Women: Japan's Brutal Regime of Enforced Prostitution in the Second World War by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Kafkaesque: Fourteen Stories by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Children Who Fail at School But Succeed at Life: Lessons from Lives Well-Lived by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book About a Mountain by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book Skagboys by Sheila Jasanoff
Cover of the book The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West by Sheila Jasanoff
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy