Emotions are important determinants in risk perception. Yet, emotions are generally excluded
from communication and political decision making about risky technologies and climate change (...) Emotions might be an indispensable normative guide in judging the moral acceptability of technological risks.
This course investigates ethical aspects of risks. Debates about technological risks related to, for example, energy technologies, robotics and biotechnology frequently culminate in stalemates. This is due to the complexities and intricacies inherent to such debates as they involve scientific information and uncertainties, as well as ethical and emotional considerations. Conventional, quantitative approaches focus solely on statistical information about risk. They do not incorporate important ethical considerations such as justice, fairness and autonomy. Furthermore, emotions such as compassion, care and feelings of responsibility can draw attention to such ethical aspects of risky technologies. Taking emotions seriously can lead to more fruitful deliberation between different stakeholders in which relevant concerns are taken seriously and are explicitly reflected upon. This course will study how approaches to ethical aspects of risk can lead to more morally responsible decision making and design of technological innovations.
This course will provide students with an understanding of approaches to risk ethics and students will get experience with discussing and evaluating ethical aspects of risk.
The course consists of self-study, lectures and tutorials. It will be assessed by an exam and for students who take the 5 ECTS version of this course, also by an essay.
Lectures / tutorials
Week 1
· Opening of the course
· Recap ethical theories
· Opportunity to ask questions about the preparatory material
· Guest lecture on formal methods to risk assessment by Prof.dr. Pieter van Gelder (safety science) and dr. Sjoerd Zwart (philosophy)
Texts to be prepared:
1. Möller, N., 2012. The concepts of risk and safety. In: Roeser, S., Hillerbrand, R., Sandin, P., Peterson, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Risk Theory: Epistemology, Decision Theory, Ethics and Social Implications of Risk. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 55–85.
Möller, N., 2012. The concepts of risk and safety. In: Roeser, S., Hillerbrand, R., Sandin, P., Peterson, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Risk Theory: Epistemology, Decision Theory, Ethics and Social Implications of Risk. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 55–85.
