What is Nanotechnology and Why Does it Matter? – From Science to Ethics

Fritz Allhoff is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University, where he also holds an affiliation with the Mallinson Institute for Science Education. He has held fellowships at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh and the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University. He has edited more than 20 books, including two on the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology. Patrick Lin is the director of Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and holds academic appointments at Dartmouth College, US Naval Academy and Western Michigan University. He is also lead author of a recent major report funded by the Department of Navy entitled Autonomous Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, and Design (2008), as well as other publications in technology ethics, including edited anthologies on nanoethics. Daniel Moore is a research scientist on nanoscale semiconductor solutions for IBM. He served on the Georgia Institute of Technology's honor committee and has received numerous fellowships, including the Molecular Design Institute Fellowship, the GT Nanoscience and Technology Fellowship, the School of Materials Science and Engineering Advanced Publication Award, the NSF STEP Fellowship, and a Sam Nunn Security Fellowship. His professional experience includes nanoscale research in other leading industry laboratories.

Preface. Unit I What Is Nanotechnology? 1 The Basics of Nanotechnology. 1.1 Definitions and Scales. 1.2 The Origins of Nanotechnology. 1.3 The Current State of Nanotechnology. 1.4 The Future of Nanotechnology. 1.5 Nanotechnology in Nature and Applications. 2 Tools of the Trade. 2.1 Seeing the Nanoscale. 2.2 Basic Governing Theories. 3 Nanomaterials. 3.1 Formation of Materials. 3.2 Carbon Nanomaterials. 3.3 Inorganic Nanomaterials. 4 Applied Nanotechnology. 4.1 Using Nanomaterials. 4.2 Nanotechnology Computing and Robotics. 4.3 Predicting the Future of Technology. Unit II Risk, Regulation, and Fairness. 5 Risk and Precaution. 5.1 Risk. 5.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis. 5.3 Precautionary Principles. 5.4 Evaluating the Precautionary Principle. 6 Regulating Nanotechnology. 6.1 The Stricter-Law Argument. 6.2 Learning from History. 6.3 Objections to the Stricter-Law Argument. 6.4 An Interim Solution? 6.5 Putting the Pieces Together. 7 Equity and Access. 7.1 Distributive Justice. 7.2 Nanotechnology and the Developing World. 7.3 Water Purification. 7.4 Solar Energy. 7.5 Medicine. 7.6 Nanotechnology, the Developing World, and Distributive Justice. Unit III Ethical and Social Implications. 8 Environment. 8.1 Society, Technology, and the Environment. 8.2 Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology. 8.3 Nanotechnology Solutions to Environmental Problems. 8.4 Overall Assessments: Risk and Precaution. 9 Military. 9.1 The Military and Technology. 9.2 A Nano-Enabled Military. 9.3 A Nano-Enabled Defense System. 9.4 Ethical Concerns. 10 Privacy. 10.1 Historical and Legal Background. 10.2 Philosophical Foundations. 10.3 Radio Frequency Identity Chips. 10.4 Item-Level Tagging. 10.5 Human Implants. 10.6 RFID-Chipped Identification. 10.7 Is RFID a Threat to Privacy? 11 Medicine. 11.1 The Rise of Nanomedicine. 11.2 Diagnostics and Medical Records. 11.3 Treatment. 11.4 Moving Forward. 12 Human Enhancement. 12.1 What is Human Enhancement? 12.2 Defining Human Enhancement. 12.3 The Therapy-Enhancement Distinction. 12.4 Human Enhancement Scenarios. 12.5 Untangling the Issues in Human Enhancement. 12.6 Restricting Human Enhancement Technologies? 13 Conclusion. 13.1 Chapter Summaries. 13.2 Final Thoughts and Future Investigations. References. Index.