BOKU100494 Ethics in science and technology
- Type
- course with continuous assessment
- Semester hours
- 3
- Lecturer (assistant)
- Liebert, Wolfgang , Hammer, Caroline
- Organisation
- Ethikplattform
- Offered in
- Sommersemester 2026
- Languages of instruction
- Deutsch
- Content
-
The course introduces students to ethical concepts and demonstrates how these concepts are linked to current developments and potential future opportunities arising from scientific and technological progress. Students first become familiar with classical moral concepts focusing on interpersonal and social action. They will then explore the extent to which these concepts can be applied to ethical challenges in the scientific and technological world, and where their limits lie. Further developments in ethical concepts for dealing with scientific and technological progress will also be presented and discussed in relation to their practical application. Through discussions about specific scientific and technological fields of development, the possibilities and limitations of ethical orientation are explored.
- Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)
-
Students will be able to identify the key elements of major classical ethical theories (particularly virtue ethics, Kantian maxim ethics, utilitarianism, discourse ethics, and ethics of compassion) and compare them in relation to scientific and technological developments. They will also be able to relate these concepts to current developments, such as the ethics of responsibility, engineering ethics, environmental ethics, and concepts of justice, and utilise them.
Graduates of the course will be able to provide basic answers to questions concerning the freedom and responsibility of science, the tension between personal and communal responsibility, values in science, and responsibility in the context of scientific and technological progress. They will also be able to express and reflect on different perspectives.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.