Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
- important document in the history of human rights.
- proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948.
- Motivated by events during World War II.
- lays out fundamental human rights.
- Universal Declaration contains a preamble and 30 articles
preamble states the
“recognition of inherent dignity and of equal and inalienable rights of all members of human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world” (UN General Assembly,1948).
First 5 articles outline the basic individual rights:
Article 1– Right to equality
Article 2– Freedom from discrimination
Article 3– Right to life, liberty, and personal security
Article 4– Freedom from slavery or servitude
Article 5– Freedom from torture and degrading treatment
Science and technology are
vital parts of human life.
Article 27 of the UDHR states
“everyone has right to participate in cultural life of community and share scientific advancement and its benefits.”
- right to science and culture, one of the core economic, social, and cultural rights.
- recognized in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Covenant, treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16December 1966.
Ethical Dimension of Science and Technology
In 1945, towards World War II, members of Nazi party of Germany tried for war crimes.
- Thetrials became Nuremberg trial; one trial prosecuted physicians in unethical human experimentation.
- No human subject should be forced to participate
- Nuremberg Code: landmark document in clinical research ethics.
Ex: Declaration of Helsinki: first publish by the World Medical Association(WMA) in 1975. - Clinical research ethics: applied ethic, branch of ethics or moral philosophy.
- Applied ethics: specific issues such as abortion, animal rights, and
environmental concerns.
In order to make ethical decisions,
IRMI
- scientists follow a framework. attempts to consider issues.
Essential elements in making a decision(Harris, 2006):
Identifying stakeholders
Review arguments for each option
Making rational choice from the available options, backed with strongest set of moral reasons or principles.
Identifying possible options or course ofaction
Moral principles provide
distinctive guidance in ethical decision.
In medical ethics, standard approach: involves 4 principles
1. autonomy
2. non-maleficence
3. beneficence
4. justice
Other principles include equality, duty, obligation, responsibility, and Self-interest, efficiency, and economy
Ethical matrix
by Ben Mepham in the 1990’s.
- assists non-philosophers in appreciating value of ethical insights to arrive at ethical judgments.
- used in evaluating other technologies.
- Well-being: maximization of good
- autonomy: freedom
- fairness: respect for justice and the law.
Codes of ETHICS purposes
- Establishstandardsof conduct in cases not dictated by common sense
- Formulate rules to govern a practice or discipline
- Provide a framework for resolving conflicts
- Manage the expectation of the public in a practice or discipline
Codes of ethics
authoritative reminders of rules and duties that scientists and engineers must abide to.
Other professions have their respective codes of ethics: for example,
The Hippocratic Oath is old code used by medical practitioners.
National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) published
- Ethical Principles and Guidelines for Filipino Scientist in 2009.
- NAST ethical code: guide Filipino scientists to achieve a high level of professional
Generically Principles
- Ethical scientific practices
2 .Ethical use of science in Philippine society
3 .Conflict of interest
4 .Weighing the benefits
5 .Commitment to professional development asscientists - Development of students and other stakeholders
- Advocacy for scientific approaches
- Intellectual honesty
Another example of a code of ethics
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) of the United States of America.
Code of Ethics for Chemistry Practitioners of the Philippines:
that chemistry professionals have an obligation to the society (ProfessionalRegulatory Board of Chemistry, 2016)
Technology
- to achieve certain purpose: knowledge of techniques and processes.
- Being considered as object, knowledge, and activity
In 1984, Albert Borgmann offered
Three types of approaches to technology:
- Substantive view - force of its own, capable of shaping society without intervention of other forces
- Instrumentalist view - mere instrument to achieve social values
- Pluralist view - dynamic interactions between technology and social
According to Borgmann
promise of technology is to “bring forces of nature and culture under control, to liberate us from misery” (Borgmann, 1984).
Device paradigm
things are distinguished
Technology is inseparable
from its social context, it is a thing
Device paradigm applies to
modern technology
Robotics is
an Example of Contemporary Issue in Science and Technology
Ray Kurzweil’s work
The Singularity is near:
- When Humans Transcend Human Biology
- Kurzweil identifies technologies capable of driving the society to singularity – intelligence of machines converge with humans
There are three such technologies: GNR
Genetics
Nanotechnology
Robotics
Robotics
use and development of robots– programmable machines capable of motion (Sparrow, 2005)
Artificial intelligence (AI)
develop intelligent computational systems (Sulins, 2005)
Karel Capek’s
- Rossum’s Universal Robots: humanoid slaves.
- Czech word robota which means forced labor. (Tucker,n2014)
- Federation of Robotics classifies robots as either service robots or industrial robots
Service robots - domestic
Industrial robots - strictly used in industrial settings.
