The disciplines that comprise contemporary science and technology studies have long argued that technologies are value laden and able to affect, translate and mediate human interactions. Technology to achieve this is co-constructive with humans, rather than simple tools created for a specific task. To this end, Designing in Ethics provides a compilation of well-curated essays that tackle the ethical issues surrounding technological design. It argues that ethics must form a constituent part of the designing process and a foundation in our institutions and practices. The appropriation of a design approach to applied ethics is seen as a means by which ethical issues that relate to technological artifacts may be addressed.
Van den Hoven, Miller and Pogge have assembled a set of papers that make persuasive arguments for this design approach. The essays range widely, from healthcare to security. However, the central theses are consistent in their design approach to ethics as an imperative. The editors build upon over a decade of research on the ‘design-for-values’ approach to technologies by arguing for a methodology that ultimately aims to resolve ethical problems. The authors do not resort to a priori absolutism or the sort of moral theorizing that is divorced from practice.
All the chapter authors use case studies in ethics and technology to show how design can address real-world issues. Designing in Ethics does this remarkably well, synthesizing the various author styles and presenting a cohesive and surprisingly coherent collection, something not common in curated collections of essays. This said, the ultimate strength of this text emerges from the introductory chapter by Jeroen van den Hoven, professor of ethics and technology at TU Delft. His chapter, ‘The design turn in applied ethics’, not only provides a chapter-by-chapter description and rationale, but also lays out a sober and philosophically rigorous raison d’être for design as a dangerous avenue for inquiry, both academically and practically.
In sum, Designing in Ethics proves to be a solid primer to the history of, and necessity for, a design approach to applied ethics, one that is accessible to both graduate students and seasoned scholars in the field. The use of case studies by all chapter authors makes the applied ethics case for design in itself. The exponential advance in technology development and its increasing harmonization with human society make this collection particularly timely and its endorsement unproblematic.