Ongoing research in nanotechnology promises both innovations and risks, potentially and profoundly changing the world. This book helps to promote a balanced understanding of this important emerging technology, offering an informed and impartial look at the technology, its science, and its social impact and ethics.Nanotechnology is crucial for the next generation of industries, financial markets, research labs, and our everyday lives; this book provides an informed and balanced look at nanotechnology and its social impactOffers a comprehensive background discussion on nanotechnology itself, including its history, its science, and its tools, creating a clear understanding of the technology needed to evaluate ethics and social issuesAuthored by a nanoscientist and philosophers, offers an accurate and accessible look at the science while providing an ideal text for ethics and philosophy coursesExplores the most immediate and urgent areas of social impact of nanotechnology
Author(s): Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin, Daniel Moore
Edition: 1
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 304
What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter?......Page 2
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 11
Unit I What Is Nanotechnology?......Page 14
1.1 Definitions and Scales......Page 16
1.2 The Origins of Nanotechnology......Page 18
1.3 The Current State of Nanotechnology......Page 21
1.4 The Future of Nanotechnology......Page 25
1.5 Nanotechnology in Nature and Applications......Page 29
2 Tools of the Trade......Page 33
2.1 Seeing the Nanoscale......Page 34
2.2 Basic Governing Theories......Page 43
3.1 Formation of Materials......Page 49
3.2 Carbon Nanomaterials......Page 50
3.3 Inorganic Nanomaterials......Page 57
4.1 Using Nanomaterials......Page 69
4.2 Nanotechnology Computing and Robotics......Page 75
4.3 Predicting the Future of Technology......Page 80
Unit II Risk, Regulation, and Fairness......Page 84
5.1 Risk......Page 86
5.2 Cost–Benefit Analysis......Page 92
5.3 Precautionary Principles......Page 95
5.4 Evaluating the Precautionary Principle......Page 102
6 Regulating Nanotechnology......Page 109
6.1 The Stricter-Law Argument......Page 110
6.2 Learning from History......Page 113
6.3 Objections to the Stricter-Law Argument......Page 115
6.4 An Interim Solution?......Page 133
6.5 Putting the Pieces Together......Page 137
7 Equity and Access......Page 139
7.1 Distributive Justice......Page 140
7.2 Nanotechnology and the Developing World......Page 145
7.3 Water Purification......Page 148
7.4 Solar Energy......Page 153
7.5 Medicine......Page 156
7.6 Nanotechnology, the Developing World, and Distributive Justice......Page 158
Unit III Ethical and Social Implications......Page 164
8 Environment......Page 166
8.1 Society, Technology, and the Environment......Page 167
8.2 Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology......Page 172
8.3 Nanotechnology Solutions to Environmental Problems......Page 174
8.4 Overall Assessments: Risk and Precaution......Page 181
9.1 The Military and Technology......Page 183
9.2 A Nano-Enabled Military......Page 186
9.3 A Nano-Enabled Defense System......Page 190
9.4 Ethical Concerns......Page 192
10 Privacy......Page 198
10.1 Historical and Legal Background......Page 199
10.2 Philosophical Foundations......Page 205
10.3 Radio Frequency Identity Chips......Page 211
10.4 Item-Level Tagging......Page 214
10.5 Human Implants......Page 217
10.6 RFID-Chipped Identification......Page 220
10.7 Is RFID a Threat to Privacy?......Page 223
11 Medicine......Page 228
11.1 The Rise of Nanomedicine......Page 229
11.2 Diagnostics and Medical Records......Page 232
11.3 Treatment......Page 236
11.4 Moving Forward......Page 240
12 Human Enhancement......Page 243
12.1 What is Human Enhancement?......Page 244
12.2 Defining Human Enhancement......Page 247
12.3 The Therapy–Enhancement Distinction......Page 250
12.4 Human Enhancement Scenarios......Page 253
12.5 Untangling the Issues in Human Enhancement......Page 256
12.6 Restricting Human Enhancement Technologies?......Page 265
13 Conclusion......Page 267
13.1 Chapter Summaries......Page 268
13.2 Final Thoughts and Future Investigations......Page 271
References......Page 274
Index......Page 295
