Cultural and Ethical Issues in Science and Technology
(PHI 111)

Instructor Roger Foster
Room: N614
Telephone: 212-220-8000, ext. 5255

Course Description


There are few areas of our lives that have not been shaped in some way by technology. We often think of technology as a collection of knowledge and inventions that is supposed to make our lives easier by making it possible to do things more quickly with less human toil. The evidence for this view is all around us, in the manifold devices we use on a day to day basis. Whatever the merits of this view, the more we look into technology, the more questions arise about the kind of thing technology really is. Furthermore, the sheer pace of technological changes in many areas of life has often outstripped the ability of people who are affected by these changes to comprehend what has happened to them, and how their lives may be or have been affected by these changes. Both of these problems require us to try to understand technology using the resources of philosophy and ethics. On the one hand, we need to ask questions about what kind of thing technology is, and exactly what sort of changes in human life are attributable to it. On the other hand, we need to develop ideas for understanding the ethical implications of technology, and also to think about what kind of standards are appropriate for evaluating technological inventions and changes from an ethical point of view. In this course, therefore, our first task will be to understand technology from a historical and philosophical perspective. As we will see, the different answers to this question reflect different political and social points and view, and assent to different theories will lead to profoundly different conclusions about technology itself (is it a positive or negative force overall?), and how to evaluate it (should we focus solely on its effects, or are there alternative ways of looking at it?). In the second part of the course, we will spend some time looking at current, controversial issues in the use and development of technology, such as genetic reproduction and biotechnology, population and the environment, and information technology. The goal will be for students to develop the skills to evaluate technology and social change critically, using theoretical frameworks and practical insights.



Required Text




'Society, Ethics and Technology', 4th Edition, M. 4th EditionWinston (ed) (Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008).

Copies of this text can be obtained from the college bookstore


Course Requirements


Blackboard quizzes: 20%

Online Journal (Blog): 15%

Two formal papers (3-4 pages) 25% each

Discussion Board Exercises: 15%



Assignments

Blackboard Quizzes
Each week, you must complete a 30-minute quiz, consisting of a mix of 10 true/false and multiple choice questions. Quizzes will be based on the reading for that week. To do well on the quiz, you will need to put time and effort into absorbing and coming to grips with the reading material.

Online Journal (Blog)
You will keep an up-to-date Blog, where you will respond each week to one question posted by me in the Assignments section of Blackboard. The point of the blog exercises is for you to do some analysis and critical thinking on the reading assignments. This will help you to understand the course material, and to show that you can reflect on (or think about) what you are learning. Journals must be updated weekly! You will lose points if they are not kept up to date on a weekly basis. To get a high grade on this exercise, you will need to show that you are not only doing the reading for the course (which goes without saying), but that you are taking the time to think about what you are reading, by identifying key points, asking questions, or defending an interpretation of the text.
Blog entries must be a minimum of 100 words EACH

Formal Papers *(see the course outline for due dates!)
You will write two formal papers, of between 3-4 pages in length (double-spaced, no more than one inch margin, font size of 12 or less). The purpose of the formal papers will be for you to show that you can use the analytical and critical thinking skills acquired in the class to develop a sustained argument on a subject in the ethics of technology. To get a high grade, you will have to show that you can do textual analysis of a high quality, and also that you can develop a thesis and support it with the use of arguments and examples. Further information is given in the Formal Paper Grading System .

Discussion Board
The discussion board will be a less formal way to interact than the blog. You must write one post AND a response in the weekly discussion board forum. The discussion subject will be related to the material for each particular week.
Discussion board entries must be a minimum of 100 words EACH.

** NOTE** Discussion Board grades and Blog Grades will be awarded in THREE installments, worth a maximum of 5% EACH. Grades will be awarded at the end of the following weeks:


Formal Papers Grading System

A · clear and sustainable thesis, reflecting an intelligent and critical engagement with the source material. · thesis is well supported with textual material, including quotes, demonstrating a solid comprehension of the original source material. · clear and well-developed introduction. · statement of the writer's own position on the subject at issue (i.e. your critique of the material) is original, clear and appropriately supported with arguments and/or examples. · excellent grammar, syntax, vocabulary and punctuation. · essay flows together, with solid transitions between paragraphs and smooth linkages of ideas.
B · thesis is relatively clear, and embodies a fair comprehension of the original material. · thesis is fairly well supported with quotes and other evidence of an engagement with the source material. · introduction is of sufficient clarity to permit a grasp of the main thesis. · the writer's own position on the subject at issue displays some evidence of original thinking and is somewhat supported with arguments and examples. · grammar, syntax, vocabulary and punctuation are adequate; errors do not affect comprehension of the points. · essay is well-written for the most part, allowing the ideas to be communicated clearly and effectively.
C · thesis requires greater clarification, but nonetheless makes some sense and displays some evidence of an understanding of the original material. · some elements of thesis are supported, but arguments need to be developed. · introduction is somewhat vague; main thesis is only discernible with difficulty. · writer's own position needs to be developed and/or stated more clearly; at least some arguments and examples in supports of writer's position are provided. · grammatical and syntactical errors do not seriously hinder comprehension of the essay. Main ideas are still intelligible. · the organization of ideas needs improvement, nonetheless the main ideas can be easily discerned.
D · thesis is poorly developed, and displays an insufficient understanding of the source material. · supporting arguments are undeveloped, or fail to support thesis in a clear manner. Little or no citation of the text. · introduction is unclear; main thesis cannot be discerned from introduction. · writer's own position is unsupported by arguments, quotes and examples. Excessive summary of other's ideas in place of critical thinking. · grammatical and syntactical errors often make ideas incomprehensible and unintelligible. · poor writing style and presentation, disjoined paragraphs, excessive use of short sentences and run-on sentences; essay does not flow together.
F · no discernible thesis, or thesis is indefensible. · arguments do not show any evidence of an engagement with the source material. · deficient introduction which does not set out the author's purpose or intentions. · writer's own position is unclear and/or unsupported by any arguments, quotes, or other textual evidence. writing errors seriously impede comprehension of the essay


Course Outline

PART 1: PHILOSOPHICAL, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Week Materials Tasks

Week 1 		Watch the video: 'Automatic Professor Maching' by Langdon Winner (available on Blackboard)
Watch the Lecture Presentation for Week 1 in Assignments 		Quiz #1
Create your blogs and answer the blog question #1 about the Langdon Winner video!
Introduce yourself in the Discussion board
Register with Turnitin

Week 2 		Edgerton, 'The Shock of the Old', pp. 55-66, and Williams, 'History as Technological Change', pp. 66-74.
Lecture Presentation for Week 2 		Quiz #2
Blog Posts # 2
Discussion Board Participation

Week 3		 Reading: Richard Sclove, 'I'd Hammer out Freedom', pp. 75-83 AND Langdon Winner 'Artifacts/Ideas and Political Culture', pp. 83-89.
Lecture Presentation: Week 3 		Quiz #3
Blog Posts #3
Discussion Board Participation

Week 4		 Reading: Andrew Feenberg 'Democratic Rationalization' (in Course Documents, WK 4)
Lecture Presentation: Week 4 		Quiz #4
Blog Posts #4
Discussion Board Participation

Week 5 		Reading: Hans Jonas 'Technology and Responsibility', pp. 121-132
Lecture Presentation Week 5
Quiz #5
Blog Posts #5
Discussion Board Participation

Week 6 		Reading: Martin Heidegger 'The Question Concerning Technology', available in Course Documents, Week 6.
Guide to Heidegger's essay YOU WILL NEED TO READ THIS!
Lecture Presentation Week 6 		Quiz #6
Blog Post #6
Discussion Board Participation

Week 7 		Reading: Johnson and Powers,'Ethics and Technology: A Program for Future Research', pp. 142-152.
Lecture Presentation Week 7 		Quiz #7
Discussion Board Participation
PAPER #1 Due!
PART 2: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Week Materials Tasks

Week 8

Stiglitz, 'Making Globalization work', pp. 174-182, AND Bhagwatii, 'In Defense of Globalization', pp. 161-173.
Lecture Presentation Week 8

 Quiz #8
Blog Post #7
Discussion Board Participation

Week 9

Sunstein, 'Many Working Minds', pp. 196-209, AND Boot, 'The Consequences of the Information Revolution', pp. 210-221.

Lecture Presentation Week 9

 Quiz #9
Blog Post #8
Discussion Board Participation

Week 10

Stanley and Steinhardt, 'Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains', pp. 222-235, AND Taylor, 'In Praise of Big Brother', pp. 236-248.

Lecture Presentation Week 10

 Blog Post #9
Discussion Board Participation

Week 11 		Brooks, 'Us and Them', pp. 249-262 AND Clocksin, 'Artificial Intelligence and the Future', pp. 263-284.
Lecture Presentation Week 11 		Quiz #10
Blog Post #10
Discussion Board Participation

Week 12 		Kass, 'Preventing a Brave New World', pp. 317-328, AND Sandel, 'The Case against Perfection', pp. 329-340.
Video: Attack of the Clones!
Powerpoint Presentation Week 12		 Quiz #11
Blog Post #11
Discussion Board Participation

Week 13 		The Digital Divide: Reading: PBS Website on the Digital Divide Quiz #12
Blog Post #12
Discussion Board Participation

Week 14 		See Blackboard for Readings Discussion Board Participation

Week 15		 No Readings scheduled for this week PAPER #2 Due!