Ethics Of Chemistry: From Poison Gas To Climate Engineering

Although chemistry has been the target of numerous public moral debates for over a century, there is still no academic field of ethics of chemistry to develop an ethically balanced view of the discipline. And while ethics courses are increasingly demanded for science and engineering students in many countries, chemistry is still lagging behind because of a lack of appropriate teaching material. This volume fills both gaps by establishing the scope of ethics of chemistry and providing a cased-based approach to teaching, thereby also narrating a cultural history of chemistry.

From poison gas in WWI to climate engineering of the future, this volume covers the most important historical cases of chemistry. It draws lesson from major disasters of the past, such as in Bhopal and Love Canal, or from thalidomide, Agent Orange, and DDT. It further introduces to ethical arguments pro and con by discussing issues about bisphenol-A, polyvinyl chloride, and rare earth elements; as well as of contested chemical projects such as human enhancement, the creation of artificial life, and patents on human DNA. Moreover, it illustrates chemical engagements in preventing hazards, from the prediction of ozone depletion, to Green Chemistry, and research in recycling, industrial substance substitution, and clean-up. Students also learn about codes of conduct and chemical regulations.

An international team of experts narrate the historical cases and analyse their ethical dimensions. All cases are suitable for undergraduate teaching, either in classes of ethics, history of chemistry, or in chemistry classes proper.

Joachim Schummer is the founding Editor-in-chief of HYLE: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry (since 1995), from which the chapters of this volume have been evolved. After graduation in both chemistry and philosophy, PhD, and habilitation (second doctorate) in philosophy from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany (now KIT) he has taught at numerous universities worldwide, before becoming an independent scholar and author. His recent books include Nanotechnology Challenges (World Scientific Publishing, 2006), The Public Image of Chemistry (World Scientific Publishing, 2007), Nanotechnologie (Suhrkamp, 2009), Das Gotteshandwerk (Suhrkamp, 2011), Wozu Wissenschaft? (Kadmos, 2014), and Zwischen Faszination und Verteufelung: Chemie in der Gesellschaft (Springer, 2017).

Tom Børsen is Tom Børsen has a Master's degree in chemistry and a PhD in university chemistry education. He is an Associate Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he serves as director of the Study Board for Techno-Anthropology and Sustainable Design. Tom is a member of the research group in Techno-Anthropology and Participation (TAPAR), a board member of Centre for Applied Ethics at Aalborg University and of the think tank: Techno-Ethics. His research clusters around four aspects of Responsible Research and Technological Innovation: Ethical Technology Assessment, Robust Technologies through Action Research, Teaching Responsibility in STEM, Interdisciplinary Policy Advice on Technological Risks.