PhilSci Archive

THE NATURALNESS OF THE NATURALISTIC FALLACY AND THE ETHICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

Dorato, Mauro (2013) THE NATURALNESS OF THE NATURALISTIC FALLACY AND THE ETHICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. [Preprint]

[img]
Preview
PDF
doratorev.pdf - Draft Version

Download (493kB)

Abstract

In the first part of this paper, I try to clear the ground from frequent misconceptions about the relationship between fact and value by examining some uses of the adjective “natural” in ethical controversies. Such uses bear evidence to our “natural” tendency to regard nature (considered in a descriptive sense, as the complex of physical and biological regularities) as the source of ethical norms. I then try to account for the origin of this tendency by offering three related explanations, the most important of which regards it as the outcome of an adaptation: if any behaviour that favours our equilibrium with the environment is potentially adaptive, nothing can be more effective for this goal than developing an attitude toward the natural world that regards it as a dispenser of sacred norms that must be invariably respected. By referring to the Aristotelian notion of human flourishing illustrated in the first part of the paper, in the second I discuss some ethical problems raised by mini-chips implantable under in our bodies. I conclude by defending the potential beneficial effects of such new technological instruments


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Dorato, Mauromauro.dorato@gmail.com
Keywords: fact, value, natural selection, natural, adaptation, microchip, natural laws, symbionts
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology
General Issues > Science and Policy
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Dr Mauro Dorato
Date Deposited: 13 Apr 2013 13:14
Last Modified: 13 Apr 2013 13:14
Item ID: 9673
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology
General Issues > Science and Policy
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: 13 April 2013
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9673

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item