As you have seen, risks arising from technologies raise important ethical issues for people living in the 21st century. Although technologies such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, ICT, and/or nuclear energy can potentially improve human well-being, they come with serious risks. Consider the possibility and disastrous consequences of accidents, pollution, occupational safety or even environmental damage. Due to the subjective perception of such risks, such controversial technologies can trigger strong (negative) emotions, including fear and indignation, which often leads to conflicts between experts and laypeople.
Emotions are generally seen to be an annoyance in debates about risky technologies, because they seem irrational and immune to factual information. However, Sabine Roeser will argue that emotions can be a source of practical rationality. Natural emotions like fear, sympathy and compassion help to grasp morally salient features of risky technologies, such as fairness, justice, equity and/or autonomy that might be overlooked in conventional, technocratic approaches to risk.
Emotions should be taken seriously in debates about risky technologies. This will lead to a more balanced debate in which all parties are taken seriously, which in turn signals that all sides are willing to listen to each other and give-and-take. This is needed in order to come to well-grounded policies on how to deal with risky technologies, and more importantly, broad acceptance of said policies.
Not yet convinced? You will probably be after this web lecture!
As bonus material, we have also included a link to Sabine's presentation during a TEDx conference in Delft in 2011 (note: this video is not downloadable).
Readings for Emotions & Values
As you have seen in the web lecture, Sabine proposed a different perspective to look at emotional responses to risk. Risk perception (i.e. emotions evoked by subjective tolerance to risk) can help to draw attention to morally salient aspects of risks that might otherwise escape more objective processes.
This alternative approach can shed new light on various controversial debates about risky technologies by showing the reasonableness of risk emotions. In addition, it can provide a new approach to address emotions in debates about risky technologies. By taking the emotions of the public more seriously, the gap between experts and laypeople could eventually be overcome, leading to more fruitful discussions and responsible decision-making.
This chapter titled Moral Emotions as Guide to Acceptable Risk from the Handbook of Risk Theory will describe this in detail.
Discussion
Can you think of a controversial, risky technology? What are some of the values and emotions underlying the controversy surrounding this technology? What are your feelings towards this technology, regardless of the objective specifications?
Check out the replies from other students and see whether you share their values and emotions.
