CAREER: Ethics and Belief Inside the Development of Nanotechnologies

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

Theoretically, molecular nanotechnology will mean the ability to build things from the atom up, to rearrange matter with precision, and to control its very structure. Nanotechnology promises enhanced living, and the transcendence of myriad human physical and mental limitations. As self-replicating, super-intelligent machines working within and beyond the human body, molecular nanotechnology is likely to radically alter not just the physical, but the social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of human life. Therefore, now is the time, in the theoretical stages of development, to begin to explore the ethical implications of molecular nanotechnology. This investigator seeks to understand the developing ethics of nanotechnology through a narrative analysis of discourse inside of its development. The focus is on engineers and scientists who are working in the field to answer the questions: What do scientists and engineers define as the ethical issues connected to the development of nanotechnology? How, if at all, do scientists and engineers imagine confronting or addressing those ethical issues as they are defined? In what ways might religious perspectives and personal beliefs be a factor in the ethical framework of developing nanotechnology? The data are drawn from an array of discourses, oral and written, in order to richly understand the ethics and beliefs of the developers of nanotechnology, thus revealing its largely tacit, newly forming moral/ethical frameworks. A textbook on nanotechnology ethics, and eventually, educational film on the hopes and dreams of nanotechnology investigators, are hoped to be offered as tangible outcomes of this project.