Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Edited by I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave. Pp. viii, 282. £3·50, paperback £1. 1970. (Cambridge University Press.)

政治自由主义 = Political liberalism

Everybody knows that digital technology has revolutionized our economy and our lifestyles. But how many of us really understand the drivers behind the technology – the significance of going digital; the miniaturization of electronic devices; the role of venture capital in financing the revolution; the importance of research and development? How many of us understand what it takes to make money from innovative technologies? Should we worry about manufacturing going offshore? What is the role of India and China in the digital economy? Drawing on a lifetime’s experience in the industry, as an engineer, a senior manager, and as a partner in a global venture capital firm, Henry Kressel offers an expert personalized answer to all these questions. He explains how the technology works, why it matters, how it is financed, and what the key lessons are for public policy.

Competing for the Future

Ecological Engineering: Journal of Ecotechnology. Editor-in-chief William J. Mitsch. Elsevier. 4/yr. DFL 361, $195.

Science in action

The dramatic advances in DNA technology over the last few years are the stuff of science fiction. It is now not only possible to clone human beings it is happening. For the first time since the creation of the earth four billion years ago, or the emergence of mankind 10 million years ago, people will be able to choose their children's' sex, height, colour, personality traits and intelligence. It will even be possible to create 'superhumans' by mixing human genes with those of other animals for extra strength or longevity. But is this desirable? What are the moral and political consequences? Will it mean anything to talk about 'human nature' any more? Is this the end of human beings? Post Human Society is a passionate analysis of the greatest political and moral problem ever to face the human race.

The Problem with NatureOur Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution

Neither traditional philosophy nor current applied ethics seem able to cope adequately with the highly dynamic character of our modern technological culture. This is because they have insufficient insight into the moral significance of technological artifacts and systems. Here, much can be learned from recent science and technology studies (STS). They have opened up the black box of technological developments and have revealed the intimate intertwinement of technology and society in minute detail. However, while applied ethics is characterized by a certain "technology blindness," the most influential approaches within STS show a "normative deficit" and display on agnostic or even antagonistic attitude toward ethics. To repair the blind spots of both applied ethics and STS, the authors sketch the contours of a pragmatist approach. They will explore the tasks and tools of a pragmatist ethics and pay special attention to the exploration of future worlds disclosed and shaped by technology and the management of deep value conflicts inherent in a pluralistic society.

Ethics in technological culture: a programmatic proposal for a pragmatist approach

Governments, producers, and international free tradeorganizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) areincreasingly confronted with consumers who not only buy (or don'tbuy) goods, but also demand that those goods are producedconforming to certain ethical (often diverse) standards. Not onlysafety and health belong to these ethical ideals, but animalwelfare, environmental concerns, labor circumstances, and fairtrade. However, this phantom haunts the dusty world of social andpolitical philosophy as well. The new concept ``consumersovereignty'' bypasses the conceptual dichotomy of consumer andcitizen. According to the narrow liberal response to this newconstellation, with respect to food one should conceptualizeconsumer sovereignty as the right of the individual consumer toget information on food products and to make his or her ownchoice on the market of food products. In this conception, thereis a very strong emphasis on rules and principles with respect tothe autonomy of individuals. I argue that these narrow liberal concepts are not sufficient forappropriate public policy-making in democratic societies, andthat they only enable us to identify problems; they do not helpnon-experts (and experts, if it comes to that, as well) inweighing the different ethical claims. Besides, not onlyprinciples play a role in the outcome, but all kinds of ideals aswell, like roles, values, and norms. My principal argument isthat analysis or justification of norms or principles is notsufficient to get a synthesis or construction of ethicalsolutions: we need some value orientation to guide us inbalancing the different ethical claims by solving an ethicalproblem. Moreover, this balancing is something that requiressocial space and social time, i.e., public debates. With theconcept of public debates a whole new dimension enters ethicalanalysis, because the attention of ethicists shifts toformulating criteria of successful and rational public debates. However, in the broad liberal view these concepts aresupplemented with values, preferences, practices of care, andinvolvement. I argue firstly for a broadened perspective on foodas an integral part of life styles and not only as something thatpresents risks. That is the reason that food gets such intensiveattention from the public, which is summarized in the concept ofconsumer concerns. Secondly, I defend the argument that not only(rational) public debates, but intensive commitments of bothproducers and consumers in every link of the chain in so calledcare practices or consumer councils can enhance confidence in thefood production system and the way we extract our daily intakefrom nature.

Taking consumers seriously: Two concepts of consumer sovereignty

Abbreviations List of tables and figures Contributors Editors' Preface Foreword Ethical Traceability and Informed Food Choice Introduction The Emergence of traceability in the food chain Traceability in contemporary food chains Ethics, traceability and food Consumers' ethical concerns Informed food choice The plan of the book References. PART I Regulation, governance and narrative strategies of food traceability The European Union and the regulation of food traceability: from risk management to informed choice? EU governance and its review U regulation of traceability The reform of food safety regulation and food law in the EU: risk management and traceability as control Food traceability as a relational tool for information, communication and participation References. Governing and governance in the agri-food sector and traceability From governing to governance Agri-food governance: the interaction of public and private forms Multi-level governance of food and agriculture The international governance of agri-food traceability Conclusion: the governance contexts for realizing ethical traceability References. Narrative strategies in food advertising Introduction Four possible narrative strategies of food advertising Empirical research into narrative strategies used in Italian and Spanishjournals Narratives and advertising strategies Implications of advertising strategies for ethical traceability Conclusion References. PART II Ethical Traceability in three food supply chains: case studies of Danish bacon, UK wheat-bread and Greek olive oil Ethical traceability in the bacon supply chain Introduction The Danish pork chain Danish bacon Ethical concerns in the pork sector Traceability and ethical traceability in the chain Stakeholders' and consumers' response to ethical concerns Communication in the chain Discussion of findings References. Ethical traceability in the UK wheat-flour-bread chain Introduction Wheat into bread: overview of a mature, complex supply chain Traceability in the chain, and its ethical dimensions Perspectives on ethical concerns along the chain Information and communication along the chain Some conclusions for ethical traceability References. Traceability and ethical traceability in the Greek olive oil chain Introduction The Greek olive oil chain Traceability and ethical traceability in the olive oil chain Ethical concerns along the olive oil chain Conclusions on traceability and on ethical traceability in the olive oil chain References. PART III Ethical Traceability and its philosophical implications for civil society, market, state and democracy Challenges of

Ethical traceability and communicating food

List of tables and figures. Acknowledgment. Foreword. Chapter 1: Good food, good eating, good living. 1.1 How it all began. 1.2 What is the matter with our food? 1.3 The setup of this book. Chapter 2: What do philosophers say about nutrition? A brief history. 2.1 Production. 2.2 Consumption. 2.3 Conclusion. Chapter 3: Toward a philosophy of nutrition. 3.1 Esthetic, social, cultural, and moral functions of food. 3.2 You are not what you eat. Chapter 4: Modern and postmodern lifestyles and foodstyles. 4.1 Nature, risks, globalization, and individualization. 4.2 Late-modern lifestyles and foodstyles. Chapter 5: Ethics and politics of nutrition - liberal versus deliberative perspectives. 5.1 Autonomy and fairness versus identity in a community. 5.2 The neutral liberal perspective on autonomy. 5.3 Problems of the liberal approach. 5.4 The deliberative perspective on nutrition. 5.5 Toward non-neutral, impartial ethics and politics of nutrition. 5.6 Conclusion. Chapter 6: Living with ethical dilemmas. 6.1 Ethical dilemmas in agriculture and nutrition. 6.2 Three approaches in food ethics. 6.3 Deliberative ethics - debate, values, and trust. 6.4 Heuristic of ethical reasoning. 6.5 Conclusion. Chapter 7: Welfare of and respect for living beings. May we eat anything? 7.1 Plants. 7.2 Humans versus animals? Anthropocentrism, anthropomorphism, and zoocentrism. 7.3 Some of my best friends eat meat. Philosophers about eating meat. 7.4 Does keeping animals imply caring for them? 7.5 Justification for killing and eating farm animals. 7.6 Keeping cattle in large or small volumes. 7.7 The failure of agricultural expertise and the cost-benefit analysis in the foot-and-mouth disease crisis. 7.8 Conclusion. Chapter 8: Heaven or hell: scientific production and preparation of food. 8.1 Scientific production, cooking, and eating of food. 8.2 Great promises and the turnaround to Frankenfear. 8.3 Between food and drug - functional food. 8.4 Genomics and nutrigenomics. 8.5 A deliberativeand practical perspective - new practices and responsibilities. 8.6 How shall we feed ourselves in a technological culture? 8.7 Conclusion - Does food technology mean good living? Chapter 9: Globalization of the food production system. 9.1 Globalization and its discontents. 9.2 Trading in food - risks and culture. 9.3 Poverty and world hunger. 9.4 International democratic government structures and public forums. Chapter 10: Consumers, abundance, and responsibility. 10.1 Consumption or consumer society. 10.2 Where consumers stand - on the sideline. 10.3 Consumers, citizens, and markets. 10.4 Tastes - enjoying, feasting, and fasting. 10.5 Gluttony - sin or pleasure. 10.6 Individual rights and responsibility. Chapter 11: The future of nutrition and agriculture. 11.1 Three challenges. 11.2 Key ethical concepts. 11.3 The edible landscape in Europe and the rest of the world. 11.4 Conscious consumers. 11.5 The edible government. 11.6 Good living is eating with moral dilemmas. Appendix 1 Differences in Risk Perception and Views on Food Safety. Appendix 2 New Public Responsibilities for Food Scientists. Literature. About the author.

Before Dinner: Philosophy and Ethics of Food

Our technological culture has an extremely dynamic character: old ways of reproducing ourselves, managing nature and keeping animals are continually replaced by new ones; norms and values with respect to our bodies, food production, health care and environmental protection are regularly being put up for discussion. This constantly confronts us with new moral problems and dilemmas. In discussion with other approaches this book argues that pragmatism, with its strong emphasis on the interaction between technology and values, gives us both procedural help and stresses the importance of living and cooperating together in tackling these problems and dilemmas. The issues in this book include the interaction of technology and ethics, the status of pragmatism, the concept of practice, and discourse ethics and deliberative democracy. It has an interactive design, with original contributions alternating with critical comments. The book is of interest for students, scholars and policymakers in the fields of bioethics, animal ethics, environmental ethics, pragmatist philosophy and science and technology studies.

Michiel Korthals

Papers

Ethics in technological culture: a programmatic proposal for a pragmatist approach

Taking consumers seriously: Two concepts of consumer sovereignty

Ethical traceability and communicating food

Before Dinner: Philosophy and Ethics of Food

Pragmatist Ethics for a Technological Culture