Recent research on spiritual tourism has largely emphasised physical and psychological well-being, often overlooking an ontological dimension of spirituality and its potential to address fundamental human pursuit. This study advances the understanding of spiritual tourism by examining transcendental experiences among Chinese spiritual tourists in nature. Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews, we gathered rich narratives that were thematically analysed, revealing four distinct types of transcendental experiences: transcendence from social constraints, transcendence of ego, transcendence of awareness, and transcendence of ontological insecurity. Findings suggest (...) that nature-based spiritual tourism offers a pathway to transcend the absurdities and mundanity of society, as well as the ontological anxiety associated with mortality. Unique experiences, such as a state of oblivion, realising eternity in nature, and transcending the conventional meaning of death, appear to resonate with Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. Future research is needed to continue exploring spiritual tourism from an ontological perspective across diverse cultural and tourism contexts. (shrink)

Given that tourism is an " earthly business", why is it that the Earth rarely explicitly appears in tourism studies and tourism theory? In an attempt to grapple with this paradox, this paper seeks to contribute to a conceptual re-cognition of the Earth in tourism theory by probing some theoretical obstacles and possibilities. The paper demonstrates how the Earth has been conceptually erased in tourism theory by a privileging of the mapping of tourism and tourists onto the reference plane of (...) the social. As an alternative the paper seeks to provide a geo-philosophically informed conceptualisation of the Earth as a primary plane of reference of which tourism is a particular form of de/re-territorialisation. (shrink)

In this thesis the appropriate aesthetic evaluation of designed landscapes is explored. The overarching research question for this thesis is: What is an appropriate appreciation of a designed landscape as a designed landscape? This overarching research question is split into sub-questions. The first sub-question is: What is the current theoretical basis for the aesthetic evaluation of designed landscapes and does it provide appropriate arguments for aesthetic evaluations? Two important points about the aesthetic evaluation of designed landscapes were found in the (...) existing literature on environmental aesthetics and in critical evaluations of designed landscapes. Modern environmental aesthetics is focussed on natural environments as it has been shaped in response to early 20th century aesthetics, which was dominated by questions on art. The designed landscape phenomenologically related more to environments, but is ontologically closely related to artworks. Designed landscapes thus fall between two fields. The designed landscape has gone largely unacknowledged by philosophers and geographers. The lack of a specific theory for the appropriate appreciation of designed landscapes has made it easier for landscape architects and critics to miss out on the current insights of environmental aesthetics, leading to the inconsistent belief among landscape architects and landscape architecture critics that landscapes are scenic entities. Actual design criticism as offered in the Landscape Architecture Europe books is shown to be based on the inconsistent belief that aesthetic experiences of works of landscape architecture are mostly visual. To explore what an appropriate appreciation should be based in, first the ontology and phenomenology of one example, the post-war design for the landscape of Walcheren, is described and discussed. To explore its ontology, a literature research has revealed the design process and decisions. To explore the phenomenology, the descriptions of two walks on the island made by the author were analysed. The descriptions of ontology and phenomenology of Walcheren offer insights into the relevance for the aesthetic evaluation of this landscape of being designed and of the sensorial richness of this designed landscape. In both fields of ontology and phenomenology insights into aesthetic value go beyond the visible. The second and third part of the research answers the sub-questions about appropriate appreciation regarding respectively ontology and phenomenology of designed landscapes in general. The literature on topics adjacent to the field of landscape architecture, such as design and architecture aesthetics, was surveyed for aspects that might also be relevant for the aesthetic evaluation of landscape architecture. These aspects were then weighed according to a philosophical method of reasoning from first principles. Starting from a principle of appropriate appreciation, different cues were tested to see whether or not they have to be considered in such an appropriate appreciation. Following descriptions of the True Appreciation Principle (TAP) as provided by Lopes, cues were tested against the Appropriate Appreciation Principle for Designed Landscapes (AAP-DL): An appreciation of landscape L as a designed landscape is appropriate only as far as it does not depend counterfactually on any belief that is inconsistent with the truth about the nature of designed landscapes. Examples are provided where cues can influence one’s evaluation, and evaluation thus depends counterfactually on those taking those cues into account. If something might influence one’s evaluation one should consider it. The exploration has provided important cues for the aesthetic evaluation of designed landscapes. The findings are the base of an evaluative framework that takes into account the ontology and phenomenology of designed landscapes in order to evaluate designed landscapes according the AAP-DL. A discussion is provided on the importance of such an appropriate appreciation for different audiences. (shrink)

This article describes how power—socioeconomic, epistemic, and political—is harnessed and maintained through information exchanged under the aegis of private property. What was “real” in conservation was created by two Namibia-based international nongovernmental organization (NGOs) online and through wildlife conservation volunteer experiences at their private facilities in Namibia. Through private property, the NGOs control the means of knowledge production, constructing wildlife conservation according to their own agenda and goals. Embedded in every aspect of the volunteer experience was the practice, the theory, (...) and the approach of the NGOs to control the conservation narrative, agenda, authority, and space. This process is conceptualized in this article as epistemic territorialization. The concept of epistemic territorialization describes how knowledge claims organize and consolidate geographic, epistemic, and virtual communities into territories within a controlled space and bounded system. This process underscores the volunteer experience and extends through broader conservation communication over media platforms, expanding into epistemic territory. By controlling geographic, spatial, and epistemic territories, the NGOs create the conditions for “what can be known” in conservation based on problematic information. The volunteer programs are illustrative of how problematic information is circulated in ways that disrupt politics and power in conservation and mask the economic and political interests of the NGOs studied. The production of problematic information results in information asymmetries, drawing into question the local, national, and global implications of conservation knowledge claims by these NGOs. (shrink)

The theoretical and empirical scope of this study thus clarified, an outline of the chapters which follow can now be presented.In Chapter II 1 shall systematically compare Fleck's theories with the approaches adopted by contemporary constructivists. My strategy is partly to use modern forms of constructivism as a foil for extracting relevant and valuable insights from the richness of Fleck's elaborations, partly to identify theoretical and conceptual issues that can possibly be clarified through an empirical 'replication' of Fleck's work. In (...) the following chapters I will therefore deliberately put on spectacles grinded according to different constructivist recipes in order to illuminate various aspects of the concrete episodes under study (always allowing for a comparison with Fleck's empirical analyses) and to elucidate, as far as possible, the theoretical issues involved. Starting out from moderate constructivist approaches (Chapters III and IV) I will move on to more radical forms of constructivism (Chapters V and VII). In the concluding chapter the spectacles themselves will be the object of examination.Chapter III reconsiders the historical genesis of the modem concept of syphilis, which is also the main subject of the first part of Fleck's monograph. Its purpose is to demonstrate the prima facie legitimacy and fruitfulness of a broadly constructivist approach towards the historical genesis of disease concepts. The aim of the chapter is therefore less to criticize than to consolidate and extend Fleck's insights. I do so by following the example of many modem constructivists in adopting Mary Hesse's finitist theory (or 'network theory') of meaning as my starting-point. The results of my explorations vindicate Fleck's view of the (socially) constructed and 'culture-laden' character of the modem concept of syphilis. I also follow up one of Fleck's more specific suggestive remarks, to the effect that moral considerations in particular entered into the construction of concepts of syphilis. To substantiate this suggestion, I pay special attention to the (formerly presumed) 'hereditary' and (still uncontested) venereal character of the disease. By performing a cross-cultural comparison with some non-venereal tropical and subtropical diseases closely related to syphilis, I hope to loosen the hold on our minds of the 'venereal fixation' characteristic of the modem concept of syphilis. Some of the findings discussed in this chapter are calculated to unsettle the tranquillity of mind of hard-headed anti-constructivists and thus, by the same token, to earn credibility for a broadly constructivist approach.Chapter IV describes and analyzes the discovery of the causative agent of syphilis, a subject to which Fleck devotes some brief but interesting passages in his monograph. In this chapter I shall put on the type of spectacles that belong to the special brand of (social) constructivism represented by Harry Collins. Characteristic of this approach, which preferably focuses on the study of scientific controversies, is that the analyst takes a strictly agnostic stance as to the reality or otherwise of the (purported) natural phenomenon under dispute and treats the arguments and actions of the conflicting parties in a symmetrical and impartial way. The empirical subject of this chapter provides a favourable occasion to follow these precepts. During the years 1905-1907 two different microorganisms, Spirochaeta pallida and Cytorrhyctes luis, were in fact proposed and defended as the looked-for aetiological agent of syphilis. Such a situation would seem to be a pre-eminent case calling for a symmetrical treatment in the modern constructivist sense. Indeed, Fleck himself already presented a symmetrical analysis of this episode in his monograph, but - as I will argue - the particular account he offered lacks plausibility. I will undertake a new effort, more sustained and hopefully more thorough-going than Fleck's failed attempt. In the debate on the aetiology of syphilis several issues were raised that are highly relevant for a constructivist analysis, e.g. about the reliability of (microscopic) observation and the possibility of creating 'artefacts' by staining tissue preparations. Fleck's general views on the role of perception and observation, expounded in his monograph and other writings, prove to be useful and pertinent. The case also illustrates the general constructivist insight that appeal to formal methodological rules and criteria is unable to resolve controversies. Finally, the chapter will present a conceptual analysis of the notion of 'discovery' in line with the findings of the historical case-study. A consistently sustained constructivist approach leads to a major rethinking of this notion, taking up but going beyond Thomas Kuhn's views on the matter. To put it briefly and somewhat paradoxically, using the familiar distinction of traditional philosophy of science, the constructivist proposal is to transfer the category of discovery from the 'context of discovery' to the 'context of justification', or rather, to the social context of validation and acceptance.Chapter V deals with the genesis and development of the Wassermann reaction as a clinically usable serological test for detecting syphilis. This is also the main subject of Fleck's monograph. The 'scientific fact' to which the title of his book refers is "the fact that the so-called Wassermann reaction is related to syphilis", which was, according to Fleck, "one of the best established medical facts". The establishment of this fact is seen as the result of a cooperative effort by the so-called 'serological thought collective' led by August Wassermann, which under the influence of the social urgency of the syphilis problem and ancient ideas about syphilitic blood worked unceasingly to improve and perfect the test until a practically usable diagnostic instrument was finally obtained.In this chapter I examine the empirical and theoretical adequacy of Fleck's analysis. I take issue with several elements of his account, but the main objection is that he simply ignores the 'clinical connection' and depicts the development of the Wassermann reaction as if it occurred exclusively within the four walls of the laboratory, with serologists busily 'tuning their sets'. In my alternative account of the whole episode, the interaction between serologists and clinicians figures much more prominently. This account is loosely inspired by Bruno Latour's ideas on 'enrollment' and 'translation of interests'. To convince clinicians of the value and reliability of the Wassermann reaction, serologists were initially caught in a 'dilemma of application' if the outcome of the test agreed with the clinicians' own judgement, it would tell them nothing new; if it disagreed with their judgement, they would doubt its validity and reliability. Through active involvement of clinicians ('enrollment'), the dilemma could be overcome by, on the one hand, changing the technical execution and clinical meaning of the Wassermann reaction, and, on the other, redefining the diagnostic and therapeutic interests of clinicians to which the test would attend. Ultimately, a practically usable serological test for syphilis was achieved by the joint efforts of serologists and clinicians. This analysis also elucidates some riddles that were left unresolved within Fleck's account. However, I intend to do more than rectifying the shortcomings of Fleck's account. I also want to venture, albeit rather cautiously, some radical- constructivist exercises. In addition to the Latourian notions of enrollment and translating interests already mentioned, I have taken into the account the views of Pickering and Rouse on the character of scientific activity as a practice, in particular with regard to the realization of experimental systems and the practical engagement with raw materials, test animals and 'patient material'. In contrast to these radical constructivists, however, I see no reason to reject the notion of interests as used by the moderate constructivists on grounds of principle. In my judgement, a modest role even accrues to the professional interests of serologists and clinicians to understand and explain the development of the Wassermann reaction. Interest explanations, in my view, are perfectly compatible with the phenomenon of interest translation highlighted by Latour.Chapter VI is devoted to an analysis of the dispute over the intellectual ownership of the Wassermann reaction, which erupted in the aftermath of the development of this serological test - as a bitter epilogue, so to speak. It was in 1921 that August Wassermann got embroiled in a lively polemics with, among others, his former collaborator Carl Bruck and his former critic Eduard Weil over the question of who could call himself the legitimate intellectual father of the Wassermann reaction. The reason for devoting a separate chapter to what was considered at the time a rather 'unsavoury' dispute, is that it offers us a unique possibility to critically examine on the basis of historical material the much-criticized 'collectivistic' or 'anti-individualistic' stance characteristic of Fleck's approach. The conclusion of my analysis is that this 'collectivistic' feature of Fleck's sociology of knowledge made him, indeed, illequipped to adequately deal with the struggle over the intellectual ownership of the Wassermann reaction. He uncritically takes the assertions made by the protagonists during the course of this struggle as simply reflecting their views on the development of the Wassermann reaction, without taking account of the fact that these utterances were made for strategic reasons to bolster up their respective claims to the intellectual property of the serological test or to defeat the claims of others. My own account of this 'unsavoury' episode is inspired by Robert Merton's sociology of science which takes a more balanced stance on the relationship between individual and collective. For the Mertonian sociology of science, the struggle over intellectual property between (former) team members is a still unexplored theme (it has mostly concentrated on priority disputes between independent scientists). I also relax Merton's restriction on analyzing the content of scientific knowledge: the question of who has had a creative part in the making of a discovery is indissolubly bound up with the question of what exactly has been discovered. In the struggle over the Wassermann reaction participants could argue their case only by taking a stand on both questions. In this way I attempt to integrate Mertonian insights within a broadly constructivist approach. In view of the fact that Merton's sociology of science has received a barrage of criticism from constructivist quarters, the attempt may be interpreted as a plea for rehabilitation.Chapter VII deals with the development of an effective chemotherapeutic medicine against syphilis by Paul Ehrlich and his co-workers. Fleck's monograph contains only a few passing remarks on this development. The reason for including a chapter on this subject, apart from the fact that it constitutes an important node in the expanding conceptual network of syphilology, is that Ehrlich's work appears to be an excellent case on which to perform the kind of analysis that has become customary in more recent forms of (radical) constructivism, viz. those connected with the movement away from 'science-as-knowledge' toward 'science-as-practice'. Andrew Pickering is the most outspoken exponent of this tendency, but it is also manifest in Joseph Rouse's work and in Karin Knorr-Cetina's earlier contributions. Some aspects of Latour's work too can be brought under this heading. The crucial question of how laboratory results can be applicable, or be made applicable, to the world outside the laboratory (in other words, how the 'science' gets out of the laboratory), which he has raised to such prominence, can be fruitfully taken up in an analysis of 'scienceas-practice'. Such an analysis had already been partially attempted in Chapter V, but is conducted in a more sustained and systematic way in this chapter. The object of analysis is Paul Ehrlich's practice of 'experimental therapeutics' (or 'chemotherapy'), which modem pharmacologists often consider to be the beginnings of rational drug design. To inaugurate this practice he built up a vast 'Construction machinery' (Knorr-Cetina) by acquiring the necessary funds and material and human resources through an intimate symbiosis with the German chemical (synthetic dye) industry. In order to put these resources to productive work, he borrowed from this same industry a model of research management and division of scientific labour, which he tailored to his own needs by combining chemical work with the large-scale testing of chemical preparations on experimental animals. The secret of Ehrlich's success was in fact the combination of 'chemical mass-labour' with 'biological mass- labour' and the creation of 'experimental systems' (Rouse) through the suitable selection of test animals. Of course, Ehrlich and his collaborators had to overcome many constraints and limitations of the raw materials and test animals. The entire venture was not oriented to finding a remedy against syphilis immediately from the start; it was only during the course of the programme and through 'opportunism in context' (Pickering) that the turn to this disease occurred. Initially, Ehrlich had boasted that through his approach, using animal experiments on an extensive scale, the most 'optimal' drugs could be developed and selected so as to make the final test on man no more, as it were, than proving the sum. Things would dramatically turn out otherwise. After an effective substance had been found against syphilitically infected rabbits, the gap separating laboratory and outside world had to be bridged and this proved to be an even more exacting task than developing the medicine in the first place. A constructivist analysis inspired by the science-as-practice approach highlights the difficulties that have to be confronted when laboratory products are to find their way into the 'wider' society. In this particular case, the insufficiency of Latour's own answer to the question he raised is clearly revealed: the clinical introduction of Salvarsan involved much more than simply transplanting laboratory conditions to the outside world, it also involved the 'normalization of the object' (Knoff-Cetina), legal, social and political intervention, and continued experimentation with the medicine after its commercial introduction (the thesis of 'society as laboratory').Chapter VIII does not deal with a particular episode in the history of syphilology, but offers a reconstruction of the so-called 'serological thought style' which according to Fleck determined the way of thinking and acting of the serologists' collective led by Wassermann. In contrast to Fleck, contemporary constructivists generally reject, on the basis of finitist arguments, such an explanatory use of the notion of thought style. This still leaves the possibility that the term refers to an interesting phenomenon worthy of investigation as an explanandum. Fleck's descriptive characterization of the serological thought style, however, also raises questions. Following Harwood I argue that this concept can be meaningfully employed only in a comparative way. It does not make sense to speak of the thought style of a serologists' collective, if this same style cannot be recognized in other sectors than serology and if it cannot be contrasted with different styles. To carry out this comparative investigation I will draw upon the various episodes in the history of syphilology as discussed in the preceding chapters, which together cover several sectors of medical science (nosology, aetiology, serology, and therapy). The unity of Fleck's 'serological' thought style will be found in the basic idea of specificity. Viewed in this way it represents the so-called 'pluralist' style, previously analyzed by Pauline Mazumdar, which can be contrasted with the so-called 'unitarian' style. Harwood's requirements for the meaningful employment of style concepts can thus be met. Finally I show that the 'power' of the pluralist style (and of the basic idea of specificity) can be partially explained from the unprecedented power structure which the Koch-Ehrlich group had built up in German medical science in the years around 1900.In Chapter IV, finally, I have attempted to develop, by building on the results of the preceding chapters, a reasoned and well-considered position vis-à-vis the two big fundamental problems which continue to haunt constructivist studies of science and technology, to wit, the problem of realism and the question of how to conceive of 'the social' and the relationship between the individual and the collective. The latter problem includes the question of how to adequately conceptualize the notion of 'social practices' in general and of 'scientific practices' in particular, Moderate and radical constructivism take very different positions with regard to both fundamental problems. Radical constructivists push the construction metaphor to such extent that in their view not just plastics or genetically modified organisms but also microbes, electrons and quarks are held to be constructed by science. Latour and Woolgar's 'splitting-and-inversion' model about the genesis of facts often lies hidden behind this view. It is because of such views that radical constructivism clashes with current realist conceptions, despite the fact that radical constructivists themselves believe to have transcended the entire debate between realism and anti-realism. Among the moderate constructivists, the term 'construction' refers exclusively to the formation of knowledge about natural reality, not to that reality itself or its constituent objects. The adherents of the Strong Programme even take a stance as common-sense realists vis-à-vis reality. I think such a position is excellently defensible. It is preferable, in my opinion, to so-called 'scientific realism', which is too strongly committed to the existence of those theoretical entities which are currently accepted in science. Moreover, this variety of realism also argues rather problematically from the practical success of applications of science to the truth of the underlying theories and fails to appreciate the open-ended character of concept application as emphasized in the finitist theory.As regards the second fundamental problem I should declare that I do not share the hypercritical skepticism which radical constructivists display vis-à-vis 'the social'. I have attempted to rebut each of several objections which they have adduced against 'social' explanations of the content of scientific knowledge. Latour's argument, for example, to the effect that society does not provide a solid basis for such explanations because technoscientists themselves act as 'society builders', is only a half- truth, for even when acting in that capacity technoscientists act under definite, not freely chosen or fully controllable societal relationships. I also confront Rouse's criticism that moderate constructivists tend to treat the validation of knowledge-claims within self-enclosed scientific communities and the position defended by Knorr-Cetina that the validation of such claims has no need for a social locus beyond the laboratory itself. I further reject the criticism expressed by Woolgar that any attempt to demonstrate the social determination of scientific knowledge invariably involves portraying competent and knowledgeable actors as mere puppets or 'cultural dopes'. I admit, however, that it is very difficult to strike a proper balance between the spontaneity and agency of individual actors, on the one hand, and the effects of social structures ('constraints'), on the other hand. It would therefore be very welcome to have a theory which is able to do justice to both aspects. That is why I finally examine Anthony Giddens's 'structuration theory' to see whether it fulfils these desiderata. In the end it appears that the modification of Giddens's theory proposed by William Sewell may be reasonably satisfactory. Whereas Giddens views social structure as a virtual order consisting of a set of rules and resources that is reproduced in concrete practices, Sewell reformulates the duality of structure as a duality of virtual elements, namely rules or cultural schemas, and actual elements, namely resources. The deployment of (material and human) resources is informed by cultural schemas; conversely, in order to be reproduced the latter must actually be used in the accumulation of resources. Within this framework the 'agency' of individuals is conceived as empowerment through access to resources and the competence to apply existing cultural schemas to new contexts. Sewell's emphasis on the transposability of cultural schemas to new situations exhibits similarity to the finitist view. He also conceives of 'agency' as thoroughly social. Finally I argue that his conceptualization of the notion of social practices is able to incorporate the valuable elements in Pickering's 'science-as-practice' approach and Rouse's 'practical hermeneutics' without taking the dubious 'posthumanist' and 'anti-social' tenor of the latter approaches also on board. (shrink)

The practicability of the comprehensive FSR concept is problematic. Contemporary FSR must be positioned at the point of overlap between the positivist and constructivist paradigms, which are both grounded in a continual identification with the rational-empirical consciousness, in thinking -being.Spirituality, defined as the process in which one systematically trains the receptivity to gain regular access to transcendental consciousness, emphasizes the experience of just being, of consciousness-as-such. It is an experiential spirituality, which is not based on dogmas, but on do-it-yourself techniques (...) to break the continuous spell of the rational-empirical consciousness. Such a spirituality facilitates the cultivation of societally and environmentally friendly behavior. Sustainability can be defined as the integrative 'emergent property' of experiential spirituality and rational morality based on negotiated agreements.In addition to the outward-oriented approaches of the positivist and constructivist paradigms, an inward-oriented approach, focusing on consciousness development, is recommended. Language-mediated interaction must be supported by consciousness-mediated interaction. (shrink)

This article develops a framework for addressing racial ontologies in transnational perspective. In contrast to simple contextualist accounts, it is argued that a globally engaged metaphysics of race needs to address transnational continuities of racial ontologies. In contrast to unificationist accounts that aim for one globally unified ontology, it is argued that questions about the nature and reality of race do not always have the same answers across national contexts. In order address racial ontologies in global perspective, the article develops (...) a framework that accounts for both continuities and discontinuities by looking beyond the referents of narrowly defined core concepts. By shifting the focus from narrow concepts to richer conceptions of race, racial ontologies become comparable through globally related but nonetheless distinct mappings between conceptions and property relations. The article concludes by showing how this framework can generate novel insights in case studies from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. (shrink)

Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need (...) to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent. (shrink)

During the second half of the twentieth century, several philosophers of technology argued that their predecessors had reflected too abstractly and pessimistically on technology. In the view of these critics, one should study technologies empirically in order to fully understand them. They developed several strategies to empirically inform the philosophy of technology and called their new approach the empirical turn. However, they provide insufficient indications of what exactly is meant by empirical study in their work. This leads to the critical (...) question of what counts as an empirically informed philosophy of technology in the empirical turn. In order to answer this question, we first elaborate on the problems that the empirical turn philosophers tried to address; secondly, we sketch their solutions, and, thirdly, we critically discuss their conceptions of empirical study. Our critical analysis of the empirical turn contributes to new efforts to engage in an empirically informed philosophy of technology.Keywords: Empirical turn · Philosophy of technology · Postphenomenology · Critical theory of technology · Analytical philosophy of technology. (shrink)

While environmental problems are urgent in modern society, they are especially difficult to tackle because of their normative and politically controversial nature. Universities may choose different theoretical paradigms for the teaching of environmental problems. However, limited theoretical and/or practical analysis has been undertaken of the theoretical and normative paradigms underlying education on environmental problems. How do we know if educational approaches sufficiently equip students to deal with environmental issues? This article provides a taxonomy for mapping both environmental paradigms and learning (...) outcomes, allowing for a thematic content analysis of the programs of a Dutch university that focuses on environmental problems. The main findings are that, while the course guides are overall highly internally coherent, there are disciplinary silos where the different disciplines teach from different paradigmatic presuppositions. Furthermore, the programs are very cognitive-centered, leaving little room for affective, social, and behavioral learning outcomes, despite the importance of these in higher education. This cognitive bias is relevant for all paradigmatic outlooks, but especially for the more mechanistically oriented paradigms. While understandable from the substance of these paradigms, multimodality in pedagogy and learning outcomes is needed for a comprehensive education. (shrink)

There are widespread calls for increased demographic diversity in science, often linked to the epistemic claim that including more perspectives will improve the quality of the knowledge produced. By distinguishing between demographic and epistemic diversity, we show that this is only true some of the time. There are cases where increasing demographic diversity will not bring about the necessary epistemic diversity and cases where failing to exclude some voices reduces the quality of the scientific debate. We seek to resolve these (...) tensions with an analysis that turns on the way the experience-based expertise of non-scientists can be absorbed into mainstream science. Mostly it has to be done via what we call ‘virtual diversity’, in which scientists take responsibility for acquiring interactional expertise in the non-scientific expertise-based domains which they consider provide knowledge valuable to the science. We argue that virtual diversity represents the only feasible option in most scenarios, with cases where demographic diversity or full cultural mergers provide the solution being the exception rather than the rule. This analysis is an exercise in the sociology of knowledge, which is considered as being continuous with philosophy. The paper is prescriptive as well as descriptive, and the moral, cultural, political, and educational implications of the argument are drawn out. A main conclusion is that the acquisition of virtual diversity should be a new norm for science, allowing the voices of experienced non-scientist citizens to be heard but without eroding the institution of science, which continues to be a vital foundation of truth in democracy. (shrink)

The paradigm of modernity is associated with human detachment from soil as the agricultural and affective foundation of modern societies. The focus on soil as a resource has created increasingly exhausted landscapes. Soil science is well placed to (re)build the urgently needed connection between humans and nature by generating evidence for soil functioning and, perhaps most importantly, by establishing linkages with diverse types of soil knowledge and integrating them in collaborative solutions. Such transdisciplinary solutions can be achieved by transforming current (...) ways of doing soil science, which begin with soil scientists. Anchored in feminist and critical thinking, we used the ‘reflecting and doing’ framework (Lopez et al., 2023) to demonstrate how reflexivity can help soil science to become a transformative space. By partially dissolving the mind–heart and human–soil dualisms, we can foster a way of generating soil knowledge that emerges from the relations within and beyond the human Self. Such an approach is relatively new in academic soil science, which relies heavily on the scientific method as a detached form of knowing that privileges mind over body, reason over emotion, culture over nature and production over reproduction. We argue that this journey starts with (re)positioning ourselves as soil scientists in relation to our research and advance a Transformative Soil Science that recognizes soil knowledge as situated and embodied and that identifies soil as the main ally for a sustainable world. (shrink)

While alternative food networks (AFNs) have become the leading conceptualisation of sustainable food systems, vibrant scholarship on food self-provisioning (FSP) in Central and Eastern Europe has remained confined to the geopolitical region it investigates. This article brings these two bodies of thought closer together in two steps. First, we trace four framings of FSP deployed over the last three decades—coping strategy, cultural practice, hobby and source of good food and reading FSP as transformative practice—to demonstrate its progressive affinity with AFNs. (...) Second, we follow the most recent framing in highlighting the material reality of local food production as a feature shared by both FSP and AFNs. From this perspective, FSP can be understood as a more radical variant of AFNs given its more substantial environmental and social impact (FSP is more widespread and socially inclusive and less dependent on market transactions). By uncovering the epistemological underpinnings of these different framings of FSP and exploring their implications for food practices on the ground, this article draws general lessons for scholarship aiming to advance food system transformation. (shrink)

Inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) approaches represent promising ways to address complex global challenges, such as climate change. Importantly, arts–sciences collaborations as a form of inter and transdisciplinarity have been widely recognized as potential catalysts for scientific development and social change towards sustainability. However, little attention has been paid to the process of reasoning among the participants in such collaborations. How do participants in arts–science collaboration reason together to overcome disciplinary boundaries and to co-create interventions? This article investigates how inter- and (...) transdisciplinary reasoning (or ITD reasoning) unfolded in a collaboration involving experts from the natural sciences, humanities, and the arts. We studied how collaborators reasoned through different understandings and experiences of climate change as well as through multiple ways of fostering motivation to take action via two co-designed artworks, HOMONEXUS (a participatory textile and acoustic installation) and GLACIER NEX US (a performance staging a dialogue between a melting glacier and a glaciologist). Our conclusions are threefold: (i) ITD reasoning can increase participants’ capacity to navigate often-unpredictable situations by cross-fertilizing ideas and overcoming blind-spots; (ii) humanities in arts–science collaborations can foster a more nuanced understanding of the differences and similarities of different knowledge systems as well as a deeper ecological understanding of sustainability problems; and (iii) the aesthetic experiences stimulated by arts–science interventions may help to raise awareness about the climate emergency and sustainable actions by providing pleasant and positive or dazzling and negative aesthetic experiences. (shrink)

This paper proposes a political concept of Responsible Innovation (RI). As a first step, we diagnose the RI discourse with a conceptual ambiguity, struggling to accommodate both private and public interests. To address this ambiguity, we distinguish between weak RI, which seeks to govern a techno-economic concept of innovation; and strong RI, which seeks to conceive a political concept of innovation beyond techno-economic ideology and practice. Secondly, we consult The Human Condition, in which Hannah Arendt articulates a threefold distinction between (...) the activities of labor, work, and action. Although Arendt does not explicitly address the topic of innovation, her equation of politics with the human capacity to “begin the unexpected” inspires a political concept of RI which fundamentally empowers the public sphere and drives radical novelty. Finally, we account for how this political concept of RI can be operationalized, advocating for its integration at both substantive and procedural level. (shrink)

Hydrological models play a key role in contemporary hydrological scientific research, but the social practices surrounding the use of these models receive little attention. This study focuses on the recruitment process for scientific positions in which models are used, to understand the implications for model development. Over 400 scientific hydrological vacancies were analyzed, to evaluate whether the job description already prescribed which model must be used, and whether experience with a specific model was an asset. Of the analyzed job positions, (...) 76% involved at least some modeling. Of the PhD positions that involved any modeling, the model is already prescribed in the vacancy text in 17% of the cases, for postdoc positions this was 30%. A small questionnaire revealed that also beyond the vacancies where the model is already prescribed, in many Early-Career Scientist (ECSs) projects the model to be used is pre-determined and, actually, also often used without further discussion. There are valid reasons to pre-determine the model in these projects, but at the same time, this can have long-term consequences for the ECS. An ECS develops a “Modeling Toolkit”, a toolkit that contains all the models where the ECS has experience with. This toolkit influences the research identity the ECS develops, and influences future opportunities of the ECS—it might be strategic to gain experience with popular, broadly used models, or to become part of an efficient modeling team. This serves an instrumental vision on modeling and maintains the status quo. Seeing models as hypotheses calls for a more critical evaluation. ECSs learn the current rules of the game, but should at the same time actively be stimulated to critically question these rules. (shrink)

In coming to grips with the advent of the Anthropocene, contemporary philosophers have recently pushed beyond its many physical implications (e.g., global warming, reduced biodiversity) and social significance (e.g., climate justice, economics, migration) to interpret the Anthropocene metaphysically. According to such interpretations, the Anthropocene imposes nothing less than a wholly new understanding of the world. This raises the question regarding the character of such an imposition. To develop this question, this article discusses three metaphysical interpretations of the Anthropocene: Clive Hamilton's, (...) Timothy Morton's, and Bruno Latour's. Among many voices today, these authors are specifically relevant because they predominantly correlate the imposition of a new, nonmodern world with the scientific object "Earth"as it is developed in Earth system science. The purpose here is to elucidate the ways in which this correlation is made, and to inquire after the role of science-a modern activity par excellence-in the advent of the world of the Anthropocene. The critical question is how this role could be legitimated in the proclaimed absence of a modern framework ensuring science's status as a beacon of certainty and truth. (shrink)

As much as the differences between perspectives can divide environmental philosophers across the globe, they can also be a source of fruitful exchange; the different approaches can learn from each other and challenge each other’s blind spots. On the one hand, the New World idea of a pristine wilderness devoid of human effects has been deflated when it became apparent that many wilderness areas had been profoundly affected by humans before European conquest and settlement. On the other hand, it is (...) clear by now that preserving the typical Old World cultural-historic landscapes is becoming more and more expensive and difficult. This introduction first sketches the main difference between Old World and New World approaches, and show that both approaches struggle with similar problems. Next, it indicates how New Worlders and Old Worlders respond to these problems. And finally, it gives a brief outline of this volume. (shrink)

An important development within cognitive neuroscience is the use of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS), a technique which holds the promise of establishing causal relationships between brain processes and cognitive processes. However, NIBS does not allow researchers to observe neurophysiological processes, and must be coupled with imaging technologies such as Electroencephalography (EEG) for the visualization of neurophysiological change. Technologies such as NIBS and EEG are not neutral intermediaries between scientists and the world, but actively mediate the reality that scientists investigate. How (...) these technologies shape the objects of neuroscientific study becomes clear when analyzing real-life conversations between neuroscientists researching visual attention. During the constitution of visual attention, neuroscientists need to manage a tension between the epistemic norms of ‘causality’ and ‘reality’, and how this tension is managed differs when different technologies are used. In the case of NIBS, the tension between reality and causality is managed in terms of the relation between experimental results obtained within the laboratory and the ‘real’ world outside of the laboratory. When NIBS and EEG are combined, neuroscientist orient to the norms of causality and reality in a different way: now, the reality of the causality obtained within scientific experiments needs to managed. This indicates that neuroscientists cannot straightforwardly assume the causal efficacy of the brain on human behavior. Instead, the coming into being of neuroscientific objects such as visual attention is both dependent on technological mediations and on how the tension between the norms of ‘causality’ and ‘reality’ is managed. (shrink)

Conflict framing is key in political communication. Politicians use conflict framing in their online messages (e.g., criticizing other politicians) and journalists in their political coverage (e.g., reporting on political tensions). Conflicts can take a variety of forms and can provoke different reactions. However, the literature still lacks a systematic and theoretically-grounded conceptual framework that accounts for the multi-dimensionality of political conflict frames. Based on literature from political epistemology, political communication, and related fields such as psychology, we present four conceptual dimensions (...) of political conflicts: (1) the style (civil/uncivil); (2) the subject (personal/substantive); (3) whether it is about underlying moral/epistemic principles or not (deep/superficial conflict); and (4) whether it concerns a normative or factual issue. Results of a content analysis of newspaper articles and politicians’ tweets confirm the usage of these conflict dimensions in the Netherlands during a non-election period. Interestingly, most of the conflicts are civil, substantive, and do not highlight deep fundamental clashes. In light of the current societal concerns about the lack of respect in political debates and the deepening of our political divides, these findings can be considered encouraging. (shrink)

This report analyses the relationship between RRI-like practices and competitive advantage. RRI frameworks have traditionally been less oriented towards their application in competitive environments; hence resulting in limitations to the applicability of some of its main tenets in industry and in the context of the development of a national competitive advantage. Aiming to close this gap and identify how a competitive advantage based on engagement in RRI-like practices across world regions may be developed, a systematic literature review, a survey and (...) case studies were carried out. Five main drivers of competitive advantage through RRI-like practices were identified: avoiding uncompetitive regulation, increasing social acceptance, incorporating stakeholder needs and tapping into new markets, increasing the efficiency of the innovation process, and reputational effects. On the other hand, four barriers were identified: obstacles during the research and innovation process, protecting intellectual property, lack of consumer awareness, and barriers derived from the institutional environment. The survey revealed that, while there are some differences in terms of attitudes and engagement in RRI-like practices across regions, both procedural and outcome dimensions were relevant. However, the application of particular practices in exercising such dimensions showed more variations across regions, reflecting adaption to local environments. In relation to competitive advantage, outcome dimensions and open and transparent innovation processes showed a clear relationship with performance, in particular with customer performance. The reason for this might lie in the increased visibility of such practices to the consumer. Two cases studies were carried out focusing on the management of socio-ethical concerns through RRI-like practices and their relationship with competitive advantage. The case on the bio-economy domain, identified different responses depending on local regulations and the focus placed on the development of competitive advantages at the micro and macro levels, and showcased the importance of domain specific considerations in RRI-like responses. The ICT case highlighted the importance of network approaches and second-order reflexivity, and the need to adapt RRI-like practices to local contexts to maximise their benefits for competitive advantage. Lastly, the analysis of the two cases concentrating on transversal issues made notable how strategic approaches to RRI and their proper integration in strategy showed an improved relation with competitive advantage. This study makes a significant contribution to existing research on RRI-like practices and competitive advantage and adds to the literature on business involvement in RRI that has been flourishing despite the tradition of overlooking RRI by actors in competitive environments. Moreover, it provides a set of practical recommendations for industry, policymakers, research performing organizations, research funding organizations, investors, civil society and NGOs and association bodies. These recommendations are oriented towards developing and sustaining a competitive advantage based on RRI-like practices by research and innovation actors, while supported by other stakeholders in the system. The advice is informed by the research study and proposes the need to tailor and adopt bottom-up approaches in the implementation of RRI-practices, integrating RRI-like logics and competitive advantage logics into organizational dynamic, and the need for collaboration among different actors, apart from recommendations particular to each stakeholder. (shrink)

We propose the 'Seinhorst Research Program', derived from Seinhorst's empirical philosophy. All theories of the 'Seinhorst Research Program' are developed by searching for recurring regularities (patterns) in a collection of observations, named 'the empirical base'. To prevent 'ghost theories from sloppy data', all assumptions underlying the empirical base are carefully described in theories with respect to methodology and technology, including statistics. The patterns to be recognised are summarised by mathematical equations, which must be connected with biological processes to bridge the (...) gap between 'normal' language and mathematical language for the description of biological theories. Often, the patterns result from more than one biological process. If so, the basic patterns are disentangled from one another using a method of pattern analysis. The procedure is best carried out when only a limited number of more or less congruent patterns are involved. Therefore, attention must be given to the choice of the hierarchic level and the complexity of the investigated system. Investigations proceed from simple experimental systems to complex natural systems at a hierarchic level that is neither so high that manifesting processes are very dissimilar nor so low that one runs the risk of describing processes irrelevant for the purpose of the investigation. In the 'Seinhorst Research Program', this purpose is finding methods for improvement of financial returns of host crops attacked by plant-parasitic nematodes through calculating risks of nematode population development and subsequent yield reduction. Pattern analysis yields theories about causes of phenomena observed at the investigated hierarchic level and about properties of processes at the nearest lower hierarchic level. Predictions at the next higher hierarchic level are made by synthesising several patterns in (stochastic) simulation models. Synthesis is also applied to compound patterns of processes in simple experimental systems, with the objective of explaining complicated patterns in complex systems. (shrink)

This paper presents a meta-model which integrates different approaches in the research on socio-ecological systems. The relations between hypothetical-deductive, empirical-inductive and interpretive-phenomenological holistic research approaches are visualized schematically together with their interrelations with the real system. All the relations shown are described.

This paper explores some of the implications of post-positivism for water knowledge by answering the question: what is good water knowledge? I use Plato's four cardinal virtues, i.e. Fortitude, Temperance, Prudence and Justice, to answer the question. Fortitude means acknowledging that there are many different ways of making sense of water realities. Dominance of one view of reality over others may be related as much to the fact that it is the view of those in power, as to the accuracy (...) with which it represents reality. Temperance refers to modesty about what is knowable. In water, it refers to the acceptance that there is much in water that we do not and cannot predict or know. Prudence refers to the wisdom to choose what is right (true) or wrong (false). It implies that producers of knowledge should be held accountable for the implications of their truth claims. And finally, Justice refers to the acknowledgement that the final test of water knowledge is not Truth, but a better world. The implication is that ideas, beliefs and visions about what a better world is should become an intrinsic part of water knowledge. (shrink)

This article discusses the emergence and significance of new knowledge configurations within the Dutch agri-food context. Knowledge configurations can be characterised as arrangements between VET and (often regional) partners in business and research aimed at improving knowledge transfer, circulation or co-creation. Based on a literature review and an empirical study involving 18 knowledge management experts and 11 exemplary ‘knowledge configurations,’ we describe their key characteristics and the factors and guiding principles that contribute to their success or lack thereof.

With the book publication “Forest and Nature Governance — A practice based approach” (Arts et al., 2013, Eds.) the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group of Wageningen University, The Netherlands demonstrates its high aspirations of developing a new research approach. This article aims at discussing the methodological and conceptual contributions of the book to the field of forest and environmental policy research and proposes perspectives for further developing this methodological approach. It finds the “practice based approach” being an innovative, theoretically (...) sound concept, which is able to produce valuable and “thick” empirical results. The approach is also found offering a plethora of possibilities to link up to analytical policy research. Yet, the approach will require further elaboration, especially on questions regarding the role of definitions, its contribution towards explaining social phenomena, and concerning the use of normative orientations in some of the empirical cases. The future challenges of the approach lie in either moulding a niche for further developing it independent from other schools, or in influencing mainstream approaches through theoretical innovations or surprising empirical results. (shrink)

Conserving nature requires the management of people and managing together with people. Marine management relies on scientific knowledge and expertise but is also inherently political, as it deals with aspects of resource access. Both local knowledge of practitioners and stakeholders' world views, values, and perceptions are important, adding to the scientific knowledge base and to understanding the management context. This chapter synthesizes existing literature and reviews on stakeholder participation. We analyze two marine management cases using eight key features of participation. (...) The analyses illustrate that a participatory process can still not be successful if an underpinning participatory philosophy and clear objectives are lacking, participation is delayed and not well institutionalized. Clarity is needed about the participatory philosophy and process objective. The goal can be sharing knowledge or negotiating a decision. The increased need of stakeholder knowledge requires clarity about which of the two is driving the process. Rules of the game, including roles, responsibilities, and mandate need to be clear to all participants from the beginning. (shrink)

Excel file of interview coding Word file of interview guide Dataset in Dutch.

Which learning analytics (LA) approach might be the best choice for your teaching and learning context? Learning analytics as a field of research and application seeks to collect, analyze, report, and interpret educational data with the goal of improving teaching and learning. But hasty adoption of learning analytics tools and methods that are simply convenient, promoted or available risks allowing learning analytics to ‘drive the pedagogical bus’. In this paper, we propose that careful reflection on pedagogical design choices and the (...) learning theory that underpins them can and should inform selection of relevant learning analytics tools and approaches. We broadly review established learning theories and the implications of each for pedagogical design; for each design approach we offer examples of learning analytics most clearly aligned with the theoretical perspectives on learning and knowledge that have shaped it. Moreover, we argue that careful consideration of the learning theory underpinning the pragmatics of pedagogical design choices should guide LA implementation, and help educators and designers avoid the risk of gathering data on, and measuring outcomes for, activities that are not relevant to their pedagogical design or goals. (shrink)

Uncertainties about how to achieve sustainable and reliable biobased value chains can be remedied by inclusion of local biomass producers. Such inclusion implies that the knowledge, values, interests and skills of these local producers are integrated into the set-up, design, development and associated distribution of risk and benefits of the specific value chain. To make sure that this inclusion is both fair and effective, capabilities of relevant actors need to be taken into account, i.e. the capabilities of biomass producers and (...) of companies and local governments. Building on these capabilities can lead to context sensitive design of biorefineries that allow for true inclusion of local stakeholders. We support this claim with reference to the case of sugarcane production in Jamaica. (shrink)

Several insect species, including flies, have been proposed as feed for pigs and poultry. The larvae of these flies can convert organic left-over streams into high quality animal protein, while requiring a low-value input: the substrate for mass-rearing these insects could include pig and poultry manure, resulting in a low environmental impact due to its circular use of resources. This proposed innovation has allure, because it seems to reconcile conflicting economic and environmental interests. However, this proposal raises several questions, for (...) example, about insect sentience. Sentience is often defined as feeling, and being equated with phenomenal consciousness, which has been seriously criticized within philosophy of mind. It is disputed whether phenomenal consciousness is necessary for explaining and predicting behaviour, and thus deemed irrelevant for understanding a subject’s mental life altogether, subsequently undermining its moral significance. Peter Carruthers provides an alternative approach to animal suffering and moral status, without invoking phenomenal consciousness. In this paper, we explore his alternative approach to animal mentality and moral status: ‘suffering without subjectivity’. Finally, we discuss the possible implications for ethics and a potential insect industry. (shrink)

Innovation is necessary to deal with challenges that climate change brings for agriculture, such as droughts, floods, pests and pathogens that enter new climatic regions, and challenges relating to the labour force. There is a dominant narrative that science and technology are the locus of innovation, and that the solutions developed can change systems. Indeed, history shows how the Green Revolution started a massive change in practices worldwide and gave science and technology the main role. Innovation, however, also happens outside (...) universities or industry research. Particularly in agriculture, it happens in the field through farmers’ experimentation. This opens up the idea of who is an innovator, and it is crucial to tackling climate challenges to agriculture. In this paper, we investigate the role of curiosity as a virtue of innovators. Instead of looking at systems of innovation, or at innovations themselves, we add to the growing scholarship on virtues of innovators. Among those virtues, curiosity is prominent. We argue that different contexts require different forms of the innovator virtues, and we conceptually investigate how such virtues ought to be cultivated in order to contribute to solving 21st century challenges for agriculture. (shrink)

The climate crisis is often presented as a crisis for humans. It is, however, also a crisis for other animals with whom we share this planet. This raises the question of what we owe to animals in this crisis, which is not merely an ethical one. Indeed our relationships with other animals are distinctively political, raising new demands for policy making and change in political institutions and practices. In this process, it is key to recognize nonhuman animal agency, in order (...) to do justice to them and to be able to overcome the human exceptionalism that led to the ecological crises we are facing. (shrink)

Should we put our agricultural hopes in new technologies or in regenerative approaches? Dualisms, and their suggestion that we must choose, frame many debates. By offering just two options, they tend to discourage more wideranging and creative searches. Yet dualism can also be helpful, for example in the form of critical discussion, an antidote against confirmation bias and wishful thinking. But then again, critical dialogue is not necessarily connected with the dualism of winning or losing. Why choose, if we are (...) actually ambivalent? This lecture looks for pragmatic ways of dealing with dualisms. It proposes pilot farms as places, and as metaphors, for finding new directions on the basis of tensions, through back and forth thinking between tradition and innovation. (shrink)

Synthetic biologists design and engineer organisms for a better and more sustainable future based on a currently transitioning global economy grounded in biomanufacturing. While the prospects are encouraging, concerns about uncertainty and risks associated to genome editing, including uncontrolled proliferation of transgenic microorganisms, need to be considered in safe-by-design bioengineering strategies. This dissertation delves into different types of genetic safeguards to conditionally restrict cell host viability to defined environments using the popular metabolic engineering host Pseudomonas putida KT2440. Specifically, this thesis (...) encompasses the generation of an industrially appealing synthetic phosphite auxotroph attained via metabolic rewiring, and a CRISPR-Cas9-based kill switch based on different genetic circuits that react to external signals for the activation of a highly genotoxic response. To also prevent horizontal gene transfer, we developed ReScribe, a highly optimized recombineering tool enhanced by CRISPR-ScCas9-mediated counterselection that was used to generate a minimally recoded P. putida strain of essential metabolic genes. To further improve our genome editing capabilities, we employed a serial enrichment workflow followed by a next-generation sequencing analysis to screen in a high-throughput manner a library of potential recombineering systems in different Pseudomonas species, eventually finding new variants for enhanced mutagenesis. While all these genetic safeguards and tools are attractive in theory, their implementation in industrial biotechnology and real-world applications is rarely exercised in practice, despite technological advances. In this dissertation we question why and what could be done about it and claim that an explicit strategy of contextualization, that is, an early emphasis on potential applications, can assist the development of genetic safeguards. Moreover, the conduction of a series of interviews and analysis inspired by social science methodologies resulted in different explorations of research and ethical questions. These included the learning of safety and safe-by-design approaches in the life sciences programmes at Wageningen University, the impact of tensions in stakeholder norms on designing for biosafety in the industrial biotechnology context, and the perceptions of industry and academia on production platforms and opportunities in the biotechnology field. Lastly, this thesis ends providing a snapshot of the state of biomanufacturing and proposing the idea of meta-workflows. These are unifying ecosystems amongst research infrastructures that emphasize the importance of interoperability, harmonization, and sustainability in making a successful transition to global manufacturing that utilizes bio-based and safe production platforms. (shrink)

Conflict framing is key in political communication. Politicians use conflict framing in their online messages (e.g., criticizing other politicians) and journalists in their political coverage (e.g., reporting on political tensions). Conflicts can take a variety of forms and can provoke different reactions. However, the literature still lacks a systematic and theoretically-grounded conceptual framework that accounts for the multi-dimensionality of political conflict frames. Based on literature from political epistemology, political communication, and related fields such as psychology, we present four conceptual dimensions (...) of political conflicts: (1) the style (civil/uncivil); (2) the subject (personal/substantive); (3) whether it is about underlying moral/epistemic principles or not (deep/superficial conflict); and (4) whether it concerns a normative or factual issue. Results of a content analysis of newspaper articles and politicians’ tweets confirm the usage of these conflict dimensions in the Netherlands during a non-election period. Interestingly, most of the conflicts are civil, substantive, and do not highlight deep fundamental clashes. In light of the current societal concerns about the lack of respect in political debates and the deepening of our political divides, these findings can be considered encouraging. (shrink)

Based on a mixed-methods study involving triad tasks and ethnobiological models, we analyze local categories and knowledge of key ethnospecies of fish exploring partial overlaps between artisanal fishers’ and academic knowledge in a fishing community in northeast Brazil. We argue that fishers’ and academic knowledge overlaps may provide common ground for transdisciplinary collaboration, while their partiality requires reflection on epistemological and ontological differences. Here, we show how knowledge of artisanal fishers can complement academic knowledge and bring about tensions that need (...) to be addressed through intercultural dialogue. By integrating a general philosophical framework of partial overlaps with a mixed-methods study on fishers’ knowledge, we show how ethnobiology can contribute to reflective and empirically-grounded transdisciplinary practices. (shrink)

Computer models are frequently used tools in hydrological research. Many decisions related to the model set-up and configuration have to be made before a model can be run, influencing the model results. This study is an empirical investigation of the motivations for certain modeling decisions. Fourteen modelers from three different institutes were interviewed about their modeling decisions. In total, 83 different motivations were identified. Most motivations were related to the team of the modeler and the modelers themselves, “Experience from colleagues” (...) was the most frequently mentioned motivation. Both institutionalization and internalization were observed: a modeler can introduce a concept that subsequently becomes the teams' standard, or a modeler can internalize the default team approach. These processes depend on the experience of the modeler. For model selection, two types of motivations were identified: experience (from colleagues or the modelers themselves), and model vision (the model has assets that align with the modeling vision). Model studies are mainly driven by context, such as time constraints, colleagues, and facilities at the institute, rather than epistemic (such as aligning with the modeling vision). The role of local context in the construction of and the value assigned to models shows that models are social constructs, making model results time, and place dependent. To account for this context in the estimation of the robustness of model results, we need a diversity of opinions, perspectives, and approaches. This requires transparent modeling procedures and an explicit modeling vision for each model study. (shrink)

Synthetic biology, as a research field, brings together molecular life scientists, computational biologists, and social scientists to engineer biological systems toward societally desired goals. Given the field’s broad multidisciplinarity and relatively young age, innovative educational methods are required to provide students with the needed background knowledge to push the field forward in the future. The international Genetically Engineered Machine competition is such an example where education and high-level research merge, providing the synthetic biology field with trained students, new ideas, and (...) novel results. In the 2021 edition alone, 343 teams from across the world completed the competition to tackle societal problems with synthetic biology. As Wageningen University & Research celebrates 10 years of participation in iGEM, we share our thoughts and experiences on supervising iGEM teams, which is especially relevant to organizers of current and new teams, and also others interested in the iGEM competition. (shrink)

The concept of innovation defines our age. It fuels the global economy, promises a sustainable future, and stands at the heart of our interconnected society. On the one hand, the concept of innovation is widely presupposed in terms of the commercial value it generates. As claimed in the tradition of economic analysis, innovation is characterized by its competitive dynamics and primarily directed at developing marketable products and services. On the other hand, the reality of today’s global issues, such as climate (...) change and food security, urges innovation to generate societal value beyond mainstream economic incentive. To this end, the EU policy discourse has paved the way for Responsible Innovation. The core idea here is to steer innovation processes towards societally desirable outcomes, specifically in response to the ‘grand challenges’ of our time. Under the sway of ‘science with and for society’, the hypothesis is that innovation can only respond to the needs and ambitions of society by including all its actors throughout the process. However, while much effort is dedicated to governing innovation, little thought goes to what innovation itself means conceptually. What understanding of innovation underpins the framework of RI? What implications, if any, does this have for the ambition to achieve RI? These are important questions to raise as they enable critical reflection on the relation between responsibility and innovation, broadly speaking. Does the ‘R’ in RI entail an application of ethical keys to an already existing concept of innovation, or does it require us to rethink the concept of innovation altogether? After providing a general introduction in chapter 1 on the context of the dissertation and its main research objectives, chapter 2 shows how RI emerged from a longer history of efforts to incorporate ethical dimensions in new and emerging technologies, such as Technology Assessment and Science and Technology Studies. While similar to its precursors in prioritizing ethical concerns, RI clearly distinguishes itself by shifting from an ethics of constraints to an ethics of construction. The chapter continues to show that such an approach comes with an epistemic challenge, a political challenge, and a conceptual challenge. Through an extensive analysis of policy documents and academic literature, chapter 3 breaks open the concept of innovation in the RI discourse. Firstly, it demonstrates that the RI discourse tends to presuppose a techno-economic concept of innovation, as coined by the terms ‘technological innovation’ and ‘commercialized innovation’. Secondly, it provides a historical analysis to show that the concept of innovation was originally politically oriented and had little to do with the way in which it is commonly understood today. Thirdly, it discusses the implications of a techno-economic concept of innovation for achieving the ideal of RI and brings into question whether the political origins of innovation may inspire an alternative route. Chapter 4 engages with the philosophy of technology to assess the feasibility of RI at both an ontic and ontological level. While innovation at the ontic level refers to concrete innovative artefacts, innovation at the ontological level refers to the mode through which these artefacts are seen, understood, and created. At the ontic level, RI is shown to play a significant role in steering emerging technologies towards societally desirable outcomes. Even so, at the ontological level, the question is whether the ideal of RI is feasible insofar its scope is limited to governing a techno-economic concept of innovation. Parallel to Martin Heidegger’s view of technology as Enframing, this chapter denotes that in trying to govern a techno-economic concept of innovation, the RI discourse remains subject to its dominance. This in turn explains why, at the operational level, RI is often employed for mere strategic and instrumental purposes, while falling short on its promoted ambitions. Chapter 5 articulates an orientation shift from a techno-economic concept of innovation towards a political concept of innovation in the RI discourse. To this end, the chapter distinguishes between weak RI, which seeks to govern a techno-economic concept of innovation through an applied set of ethical dimensions; and strong RI, which seeks to conceive a political concept of innovation beyond techno-economic ideology and practice. Inspired by the work of Hannah Arendt, the chapter establishes a political concept of innovation that actualizes the human capacity for speech and action, inspires radical novelty, and empowers the public sphere. In doing so, the chapter concludes that strong RI is principally a plural undertaking which guards individual opinion from collective opinion; enables a physical and symbolic openness that genuinely activates citizenry; and stimulates performative speech. The final chapter, chapter 6, briefly recaps the main research objectives and takes stock of the insights gained. It concludes that the contribution of this dissertation does not reside in the concern with the techno-economic ideology of innovation as such – a concern which RI in fact already expressed when it first emerged – but more so in the ontological critique to the idea that this ideology can somehow be overpowered through governance and regulation. The rehabilitation of an ontological dimension in RI in turn provides a new perspective to the philosophy of technology, which over the years has taken a course away from ontological viewpoints. Moreover, the chapter elaborates on how a political concept of innovation adds depth to the foundational claims of RI. Based on these conclusions, the chapter reflects on a range of broader insights, particularly in relation to the philosophy of innovation and the ethics of socially disruptive technologies. In sum, this dissertation politicizes the RI discourse precisely in the way it was originally envisioned, that is, through conceptualizing innovation as a fundamentally political matter. In this view, politics is not merely an extension of RI but is itself the condition of RI; it is what enables innovation to genuinely serve the public good. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that zoonotic diseases are a great threat for humanity. During the course of such a pandemic, public health authorities often apply the precautionary principle to justify disease control measures. However, evoking this principle is not without ethical implications. Especially within a One Health strategy, that requires us to balance public health benefits against the health interests of animals and the environment, unrestricted use of the precautionary principle can lead to moral dilemmas. In this article, we (...) analyze the ethical dimensions of the use of the precautionary principle in zoonotic disease control and formulate criteria to protect animals and the environment against one-sided interpretations. Furthermore, we distinguish two possible conceptions of the precautionary principle. First, we notice that because of the unpredictable nature of zoonotic diseases, public health authorities in general focus on the idea of precaution as preparedness. This reactive response often leads to difficult trade-offs between human and animal health. We therefore argue that this policy should always be accompanied by a second policy, that we refer to as precaution as prevention. Although zoonotic diseases are part of our natural world, we have to acknowledge that their origin and global impact are often a consequence of our disturbed relation with animals and the environment. (shrink)

The perspective of transitions to sustainability seems to have almost replaced the perspective of sustainable development these days. The idea and concept of ‘transition pathways’ features prominently in it. Though originating from the field of systems thinking, it often tends to be approached in a rather instrumentalist way: how to make it happen. This often goes with a focus on technology and innovations. A different approach would be to focus on how to engage with related processes in appropriate ways and (...) considering appropriate principles and values to be expressed through transition pathways. Another tendency is it to always think of transitions as something positive: “transitions to sustainability – must be good!”. In this discussion paper we problematise transition pathways as concept and approach to societal change – in particular in relation to food systems – and list a series of critical reflections. As we unpack related dimensions, perspectives, and societal processes, a clear picture emerges: the need to carefully consider implications of underlying dynamics and political agendas more than researchers tend to do. We close with a number of suggestions regarding ways in which this can be done. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic once again confirmed that zoonotic diseases are a serious threat to humanity. These infectious diseases, transmitted from animals to humans, have the power to cause a global health crisis. Over time the risk on these outbreaks has increased. Some of the main drivers are global population growth, urbanization, worldwide transport, increased demand for animal protein, unsustainable agriculture, and climate change. This development has fueled a renewed interest in the relation between human, animal and environmental health. This was (...) framed in the concept of One Health: the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. At present, One Health is the worldwide standard to combat zoonotic diseases. In an ideal world such a strategy should lead to a better health for humans, animals and our environment. However, in practice it is not self-evident that a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control is actually in the interest of animals or the environment. From a holistic One Health perspective it can be difficult to accept the culling of healthy animals to protect public health. The same goes for long term confinement of free-range poultry, whose housing systems are often not suitable for this purpose, to prevent avian influenza outbreaks. Or antimicrobial reduction policies that lead to higher disease incidence and mortality in animals. These ethical considerations formed the start of this thesis. The aim of my research is to clarify the ethical assumptions of a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control, to explore how these can be coherently understood and justified and to indicate what this implies for policymaking. The outcome of my research contributes to the development of an ethic of One Health and will hopefully lead to a more socially acceptable zoonotic disease control. This project is related to the interdisciplinary Wageningen UR strategic research theme ‘Global One Health’. From my conceptual analysis, it follows that there is no universal interpretation of the One Health concept nor of a One Health approach in zoonotic disease control. Nevertheless, One Health has produced several successes in zoonotic disease control, surveillance and research. Due to its ambiguity, the One Health concept functions as a boundary object: by leaving room for interpretation to fit different purposes it facilitates cooperation. In many cases this results in the promotion of health of humans, animals and the environment. However, there are also situations in which this mutual benefit of a One Health approach is not that evident. For instance, when healthy animals are culled to protect public health. To address these moral dilemmas, it is important to develop an ethical framework. Such an ethic of One Health starts with acknowledging the moral status of animals and the indirect moral obligations we have towards ecosystems. Furthermore, it is necessary that we find an appropriate definition of health, which encompasses all three components of One Health. In chapter 3, I present the results of an empirical study on normative presuppositions of health professionals involved in zoonotic disease control policies in the Netherlands. This study reveals that in theory these professionals adhere to a holistic view of the One Health concept. However, in practice an anthropocentric approach was dominant. The study identified public health as a trumping moral value, which reveals an inherent field of tension with the core of One Health thinking. Furthermore, a lack of ethical expertise in control systems for zoonotic diseases can lead to misconception of ethical principles, like the precautionary principle. In chapter 4, I discuss that within a One Health strategy, that requires us to balance public health benefits against the health interests of animals and the environment, unrestricted use of the precautionary principle can lead to moral dilemmas. It must at least be clear that there is a harm and some scientific evidence for a cause and effect relation. Furthermore, precautionary measures should be effective, consistent, proportional and not counterproductive. An assessment of their effect should be integrated in the standard decision-models of public health authorities. Moreover, to ensure societal support these considerations should be transparent and open for dialogue. I present two possible conceptions of the precautionary principle. First, it is noticeable that because of the unpredictable nature of zoonotic diseases, public health authorities focus on the idea of ‘precaution as preparedness’. This reactive response leads to difficult trade-offs between human and animal health. I therefore argue that this policy should always be accompanied by a second policy: ‘precaution as prevention’. Addressing the underlying drivers of zoonotic diseases is a necessary condition to justify disease control measures that harm animals and ecosystems on the basis of the precautionary principle. In chapter 5, I elaborate the responsibilities of veterinarians within the One Health framework. Veterinarians are professionally responsible for the health and welfare of the animals under their care. Moreover, society expects veterinarians to safeguard food safety and public health. These societal expectations are sometimes overdemanding. A holistic perspective on One Health offers veterinarians a way out of the dichotomy between public and animal health, that is at the basis of many moral dilemmas in zoonotic disease control. This is explained with the ‘encapsulated health’ argument: the best way to safeguard human health is to promote the health of animals and the environment. In chapter 6, I conclude that before we decide to implement certain disease control measures, an ethic of One Health requires that we choose those interventions that have the least impact on the health of animals and ecosystems, while still effective enough to stop the disease. My research indicates that the contemporary conception of One Health is necessary but insufficient to address moral dilemmas related to emerging zoonotic diseases. A holistic interpretation of the One Health concept confronts us with underlying value conflicts but will ultimately promote human health more than the current anthropocentric conception. (shrink)

Green New Deal policies are proposed to tackle the climate emergency. These policies focus on driving climate innovation through unprecedented financial policy levers. However, while the macro-level financing dynamics are clear, the influence of niche level dynamics of sustainable innovation financing remain unexplored within these policy settings. Through the context of the European Green Deal and a focus on the agri-tech start-up sector in the Netherlands, we identify factors likely to reduce the efficacy of these policies from an innovation management (...) perspective—such as project matching issues, socio-ethical factors or the characteristics of agri-food climate innovations. We go on to conceptualise that these challenges represent a range of asymmetries—from classic information asymmetries to less common value and objective asymmetries—between climate innovators and private investors and financers. Many remedies for asymmetries involve costs, likely to further inhibit the efficacy of the European Green Deal and similar policies. A partnering approach is proposed, where the non-financial resources of incumbent actors are harnessed and leveraged to enhance climate innovation performance. (shrink)

The rapid development of CRISPR-based gene editing has been accompanied by a polarized governance debate about the status of CRISPR-edited crops as genetically modified organisms. This article argues that the polarization around the governance of gene editing partly reflects a failure of public engagement with the current state of research in genomics and postgenomics. CRISPR-based gene-editing technology has become embedded in a narrow narrative about the ease and precision of the technique that presents the gene as a stable object under (...) technological control. By tracing the considerably destabilized scientific understanding of the gene in genomics and postgenomics, this article highlights that this publicly mediated ontology strategically avoids positioning the “ease of CRISPR-based editing” in the wider context of the “complexity of the gene.” While this strategic narrowness of CRISPR narratives aims to create public support for gene-editing technologies, we argue that it stands in the way of socially desirable anticipatory governance and open public dialogue about societal promises and the unintended consequences of gene editing. In addressing the polarization surrounding CRISPR-based editing technology, the article emphasizes the need for engagement with the complex state of postgenomic science that avoids strategic simplifications of the scientific literature in promoting or opposing the commercial use of the gene-editing technology. (shrink)

Governments and other food system actors from the private sector, civil society, research and education institutions are being called upon to work together to enhance the sustainability, resilience and inclusiveness of food systems. The analysis presented in this study provides an insight into the process and direction of food system transformation, and the key capabilities required. It portrays the interplay of different internal and external dynamics combined with the capacity of food system actors to connect, forge alliances and commit to (...) specific actions that has enabled countries to move towards a more sustainable food system. (shrink)

Governments and other food system actors from the private sector, civil society, research and education institutions are being called upon to work together to enhance the sustainability, resilience and inclusiveness of food systems. This appraisal presents key lessons from food, agriculture and environment-related institutional mechanisms, programmes and policies in Rwanda, considered against the backdrop of the country’s agroecological conditions and relevant social, economic and political history. It also provides insights into trade-offs and tensions which involve a balancing act between strong (...) leadership and meaningful participation, securing local food sovereignty and outward connectivity, intensifying and diversifying the economy, creating room for private sector entrepreneurship and providing central coordination – as well as a mindset focused on what is needed and possible. Last updated 24/08/2021. (shrink)

In this chapter, Iñigo explores the environmental factors that affect the engagement of businesses in innovation for sustainability. Looking at the literature on dynamic capabilities and socio-technical transitions and drawing on empirical evidence of eight cases of companies leading the way in IfS, three different degrees of dynamism are identified. In stable environments, firms often adopt a rather reactive approach to IfS, innovating towards compliance. In dynamic environments, firms draw an IfS-based strategy, offering solutions to challenges in their environment. Finally, (...) discontinuous environments, despite the risks for the firm, pose the greatest opportunities for the firm to contribute to systems building through their IfSs. The research and managerial implications for IfS of such different degrees of dynamism are considered. (shrink)

A Correction to this paper has been published: doi 10.1007/s40926-021-00177-x.

Anticipating the ethical impact of emerging technologies is an essential part of responsible innovation. One such emergent technology is the digital twin which we define here as a living replica of a physical system. A digital twin combines various emerging technologies such as AI, Internet of Things, big data and robotics, each component bringing its own socio-ethical issues to the resulting artefacts. The question thus arises which of these socio-ethical themes surface in the process and how they are perceived by (...) stakeholders in the field. In this report we present the results of a qualitative study into the socio-ethical benefits and socio-ethical risks of using digital twins in healthcare. Employing insights from ethics of technology and the Quadruple Helix theory of innovation, we conducted desk research of white literature and 23 interviews with representatives from the four helixes: industry, research, policy and civil society. The ethical scan revealed several important areas where the digital twin can produce socio-ethical value but also several important areas of socio-ethical risks. We conclude with a reflection on the employed analytical tool and suggestions for further research. (shrink)

The development of cultured meat has gained urgency through the increasing problems associated with meat, but what it might become is still open in many respects. In existing debates, two main moral profiles can be distinguished. Vegetarians and vegans who embrace cultured meat emphasize how it could contribute to the diminishment of animal suffering and exploitation, while in a more mainstream profile cultured meat helps to keep meat eating sustainable and affordable. In this paper we argue that these profiles do (...) not exhaust the options and that feelings as well as imagination are needed to explore possible future options. On the basis of workshops, we present a third moral profile, “the pig in the backyard”. Here cultured meat is imagined as an element of a hybrid community of humans and animals that would allow for both the consumption of animal protein and meaningful relations with domestic animals. Experience in the workshops and elsewhere also illustrates that thinking about cultured meat inspires new thoughts on “normal” meat. In short, the idea of cultured meat opens up new search space in various ways. We suggest that ethics can take an active part in these searches, by fostering a process that integrates feelings, imagination and rational thought and that expands the range of our moral identities. (shrink)

In the late 1990s, animal scientists from Wageningen University started to develop the very idea of an ‘intermediary’ chicken meat product that has more welfare quality than broilers in mainstream production systems but less than broilers in organic production systems. This was recognised as a market opportunity by seemingly opposing groups of actors in the Dutch chicken meat supply chain: industry, NGO’s and retail. Their shared mission was to develop an intermediary chicken meat product that included animal welfare attributes and (...) in turn, was affordable for consumers. However, in the process of collaboration, consensus was rarely reached, and fragile when as it was. At the same time, cooperation and communication continued, often un-problematically. How was this possible? In this paper, we present a case study and focus on different groups of actors transforming a societal conflict on animal welfare into collaboration and market creation. We use the concept of boundary object as the approach to explain both the process and the product. The case study on the transition of a societal conflict into market creation for Dutch chicken meat brings up at least two issues that require attention in the process of collaboration and market creation. These issues pertain to negotiating the shared meaning of an intermediary product, and the organisation of interactions between groups of actors that maintain their differences in the process. The boundary crossing feature of an intermediary product that positions itself on both animal welfare and price, makes it multi-interpretable, and therefore, acceptable to otherwise possibly conflicting interpretations. The notion of an intermediary product made this struggle explicit. The bridging and conflicting concerns at the boundary of the different groups of actors offered a new horizon on the transition towards sustainable practices, in our case in the broiler sector. The organisation of interactions that led to continuity and consistency in the process of collaboration and market creation for Dutch chicken meat are summarized in three lessons learned. (shrink)

In this chapter, I philosophically reflect on the management of corporate responsibility in the case of innovation. I first set the scene by contrasting responsibility in corporate social responsibility and innovation ethics, and arguing that classical conceptualizations of backward and forward looking responsibility are inappropriate in the case of innovation. Next, I introduce the concept of responsible innovation as a lens to understand the management of corporate responsibility in the case of innovation and show that the notions of virtue ethics (...) and practical wisdom are inappropriate for understanding what is at stake in innovation ethics, because the notion of practical wisdom is at odds with the nature of innovation. I conclude this chapter by proposing a concept of action-based responsible management of corporate innovation, which will be framed in terms of innovation as ethos. (shrink)

Food-related non-communicable diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are key threats to public health. Yet, the responsibility for food-related health harms is contested. While traditionally viewed as mainly an individual responsibility or a governmental responsibility, fingers are nowadays also pointed at the food and beverage industry, as many firms are producing and marketing unhealthy products that contribute to the rise of obesity and other food-related NCDs. Yet, does the behaviour of the industry and the impact its (...) products have on public health also give reason for moral concern? Are these firms doing anything wrong? Are there normative considerations on the basis of which it can be argued that food and beverage firms have a responsibility for public health? This thesis explores the moral grounds for firms in the food and beverage industry to address food-related public health problems, and simultaneously reflects upon what taking responsibility for these problems could entail in practice. Drawing on debates in business ethics, political philosophy, and public health ethics, it is argued that food and beverage firms have distinct responsibilities for food-related health problems, and that these responsibilities spring from considerations of _non-maleficence_, _respect for autonomy _and _justice_. The thesis makes clear how responsibility for public health can be understood as an essentially shared responsibility, and outlines what taking responsibility could entail for various firms in the food and beverage industry and makes recommendations on what kind of behaviour firms should no longer engage in. (shrink)

This chapter explores the opportunities and limitations of the ideal of transparency in responsible innovation, by consulting the virtual case of "The Circle", a company which appears in Dave Eggers' novel The Circle. The Circle is a high-tech company with the main purpose of being responsive to societal needs. They want to eradicate unethical behaviour in society, enhance public health and make a positive impact on the environment. The ultimate goal of The Circle is to reach 100% full transparency in (...) the world, which is impossible without any societal desirability. In first instance, it is free choice of people to accept and embrace the products and services of The Circle, who invest resources in keeping customers happy and in raising awareness about the dangers of privacy. The chapter concludes that The Circle meets the requirements regarding the outcomes of responsible innovation, at least to a certain extent, while at the same time, one feels unease about certain activities they undertake. (shrink)

A groundbreaking argument for the political rights of animals In When Animals Speak, Eva Meijer develops a new, ground-breaking theory of language and politics, arguing that non-human animals speak--and, most importantly, act--politically. From geese and squid to worms and dogs, she highlights the importance of listening to animal voices, introducing ways to help us bridge the divide between the human and non-human world. Drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and politics, Meijer provides fascinating, real-world examples of animal communities who use (...) their voices to speak, and act, in political ways. When Animals Speak encourages us to rethink our relations with other animals, showing that their voices should be taken into account as the starting point for a new interspecies democracy. (shrink)

To facilitate more ethical food consumption, social movements aim at behaviour change by feeding consumers information that confronts them with problematic aspects of their current behaviour and/or promotes ethical behaviour. However, changing behaviour is even more difficult than understanding it. One aspect that needs special attention in this regard consists of the often negatively judged verbal reactions that occur instead of the desired behaviour change. When consumers decide on the complex matter of the acceptability of keeping and killing animals for (...) food, chances are high that contradictory cognitions and drives get simultaneously primed. When this – deemed uncomfortable – ambivalence gets dissonant enough, the discrepancies between cognitions, drives and regularly performed actions may lead to a change in intention and behaviour; however, the innate drive to reduce the discomfort of cognitive dissonance often leads to the expression of coping strategies: pieces of framing used to feel good – or less bad – about contradicting aspects of a decision. Though arguably only the person doing the decision-making can truly assess whether a certain uttered frame was a coping strategy, in literature several characteristic coping strategies are documented, therewith providing a way for researchers to recognise them in framing. In the context of deciding on eating animals, I will discuss four classic coping strategies used to reduce dissonance, and four to oppress dissonant cognitions or drives and/or avoid their priming altogether. Moreover, I will introduce two less commonly acknowledged ways to deal with dissonance, that seek to accept, balance and optimize ambiguous situations instead of seeking to solve them. Noticing cognitive dissonance can help change-makers uncover the paradoxes or contradictions that are present in society that both block the way to change as well as provide windows of opportunities for achieving it. I will conclude by discussing opportunities and limitations of pointing out coping strategies in facilitating more ethical food practices and provide alternative routes of dealing with coping strategies. (shrink)

In this article, we follow up on food scientists' findings that people judge new food technologies and related products favourably immediately after just hearing the name of the technology. From the reactions, it appears that people use their attitudes to technologies they know to evaluate new technologies. Using categorization theory, in this study we have found that, by triggering associations with a familiar technology, a name of the new technology can be enough to determine emerging attitudes. Comparison between the technology (...) used for categorization and another familiar technology had a slight influence on the attitude formation process. (shrink)

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in nonhuman animal agency in different fields. In biology and ethology new studies about animal languages, cultures, cognition and emotion are published weekly, affirming Darwin’s thesis that differences between humans and other animals are of degree and not kind. In the broad field of animal studies the symbolic and ontological human-animal distinction is challenged and other animals are presented as actors. These studies challenge existing approaches to animal ethics. Animals are no longer (...) creatures to simply think about: they have their own perspectives on life, and humans can in some instances communicate with them about that. Animal ethics long determined individual moral rights and duties on the basis of nonhuman animal capacities, but this often measures them to human standards and does not take into account that nonhuman animals are a heterogeneous group in terms of capabilities as well as social relations to humans, which influences their scope for agency and possibilities for leading a good life. In our presentation we defend a relational approach to animal ethics, viewing other animals as subjects capable of co-shaping relations. (shrink)

In this chapter, we explore Xenophon’s philosophy of management and identify nine dimensions of business management, as well as the competencies that good management requires. The scientific contribution of this chapter does not only consist in the fact that this is the first publications in which Xenophon’s philosophy of management is systematically analyzed. Historical analysis can also help to question the self-evidence of our contemporary conceptualization of management. Xenophon’s philosophy of management enables us to criticize the contemporary focus on profit (...) maximization and to articulate an intrinsic relation between business and society; to criticize the contemporary disconnectedness of business management and to develop a broader set of individual competencies and know-how that is required for business managers; to criticize the contemporary focus on management and control; and to rehabilitate the role of business management as ability and capacity that involves know-how, actual engagement, and virtuous competencies. Finally, this concept of management challenges contemporary conceptualizations of the differences between private and public management in political philosophical debates. (shrink)

Contrary to the tendency to harmony, consensus and alignment among stakeholders in most of the literature on participation and partnership in corporate social responsibility and responsible innovation practices, in this chapter we ask which concept of participation and partnership is able to account for stakeholder engagement while acknowledging and appreciating their fundamentally different judgements, value frames and viewpoints. To this end, we reflect on a non-reductive and ethical approach to stakeholder engagement, collaboration and partnership, inspired by the philosophy of Emmanuel (...) Levinas. We contrast a cognitive approach with an ethical approach to stakeholder engagement, collaboration and partnership, and explore four characteristics of this ethical approach. Based on the ethical approach to stakeholder engagement, collaboration and partnership, we also provide a three-stage framework for partnership formation in CSR and RI practices. (shrink)

The contemporary study looked into the extent and nature of supradisciplinary collaborations within Wageningen University and Research’s 2014-2018 investment theme Global One Health. An analysis of year reports showed the extent to which projects were supradisciplinarily operationalized, was fairly limited. Interviews with scientists from life sciences and social sciences revealed constraining, facilitating and undecided factors with regards to successfully effecting supradisciplinary collaborations between LS and SS. For all three categories, results yielded a significant role for interpersonal communications and relationships. Recommendations (...) for future supradisciplinary work based on the study are: altering the image of SS, facilitating space to explore the unfamiliar, and using the available knowledge on successfully executing supradisciplinary collaborations. It seems more focus on the Social Nature of Global One Health could have been beneficial for the extent and nature to which the investment theme effected fruitful supradisciplinary collaborations between LS and SS. (shrink)

Dogs have for long been humans’ best friend, but the human–dog relationship can be problematic. A mismatch between dogs and their keepers can lead to welfare problems for both; for example: breeding for a specific look can result in health and welfare problems and importing dogs from other countries can lead to zoonoses. In our view, many of these problems could be avoided if wannabe dog keepers reflected better before deciding to obtain a specific dog. Attempting to influence this decision, (...) however, assumes that we know what the right choice is. In this chapter, we discuss three cases: pups with pedigrees, pups without pedigrees, and adult dogs from shelters. We show that, in each case, certain moral assumptions are made whose legitimacy can be problematised. We conclude that the decision about what dog to obtain is not a straightforward one and that it is often difficult to establish what is actually the right choice. However, we also pinpoint certain improvements that can be made to the current system and make a number of suggestions that make the right choice the easier choice. As Anthropocene conditions may lead to the domestication of an increasing number of wild species in the future, this analysis may support reflection on the ethical implications of domestication. (shrink)

Although most people still behave like happy meat eaters, there are good reasons to think that many are in fact ambivalent about meat. Following up on earlier findings, in this paper we describe how, in focus groups, cultured meat triggered much discussion about meat, especially among older people. While young people wondered whether they would eat cultured meat products, older people thought about diet changes in a historical perspective and wondered if and how cultured meat might become a societal success. (...) Beneath the surface of everyday behavior, in which they followed mainstream norms, many of our research participants harbored moral concerns and in various ways expressed an interest in collective change. Reflecting on the focus group discussions, we suggest, first, that appreciating the important role of ambivalence in processes of moral change requires rethinking relations between ambivalence and morality. Second, the entanglement of ambivalence with ambiguity increases the “fluidity” of such processes of change: when it is no longer clear what exactly meat is, the meanings and experiences of eating it also become unsettled. This has implications for thinking about morality in times of change. Studying consumer choices cannot do justice to processes of ambivalence and ambiguity below the surface of behavior. More generally, the idea that morality resides in making up our minds about clear moral choices gives way to the need to become skilled, collectively as well as individually, in dealing imaginatively with ambivalence and ambiguity. (shrink)

An important development within cognitive neuroscience is the use of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS), a technique which holds the promise of establishing causal relationships between brain processes and cognitive processes. However, NIBS does not allow researchers to observe neurophysiological processes, and must be coupled with imaging technologies such as Electroencephalography (EEG) for the visualization of neurophysiological change. Technologies such as NIBS and EEG are not neutral intermediaries between scientists and the world, but actively mediate the reality that scientists investigate. How (...) these technologies shape the objects of neuroscientific study becomes clear when analyzing real-life conversations between neuroscientists researching visual attention. During the constitution of visual attention, neuroscientists need to manage a tension between the epistemic norms of ‘causality’ and ‘reality’, and how this tension is managed differs when different technologies are used. In the case of NIBS, the tension between reality and causality is managed in terms of the relation between experimental results obtained within the laboratory and the ‘real’ world outside of the laboratory. When NIBS and EEG are combined, neuroscientist orient to the norms of causality and reality in a different way: now, the reality of the causality obtained within scientific experiments needs to managed. This indicates that neuroscientists cannot straightforwardly assume the causal efficacy of the brain on human behavior. Instead, the coming into being of neuroscientific objects such as visual attention is both dependent on technological mediations and on how the tension between the norms of ‘causality’ and ‘reality’ is managed. (shrink)

In this introduction we describe how the world has changed for animals in the Anthropocene—the current age, in which human activities have influenced the planet on a scale never seen before. In this era, we find many different types of animals in our midst: some—in particular livestock—are both victims of and unwittingly complicit in causing the Anthropocene. Others are forced to respond to new environmental conditions. Think of animals that due to climate change can no longer survive in their native (...) habitats or wild animals that in response to habitat loss and fragmentation are forced to live in urban areas. Some animals are being domesticated or in contrast de-domesticated, and yet others are going extinct or in contrast are being resurrected. These changing conditions have led to new tensions between humans and other animals. How can we shape our relationships with all these different animals in a rapidly changing world in such a way that both animal welfare and species diversity are not further affected? We describe how animal ethics is changing in these trying times and illustrate the impacts of Anthropocene conditions on animals by zooming in on one country where many problems, such as biodiversity loss and landscape degradation, converge, the Netherlands. We conclude by giving an overview of the different chapters in this volume, which are organised into five parts: animal agents, domesticated animals, urban animals, wild animals and animal artefacts. (shrink)

YouTube hosts a vast number of videos featuring zoo animals and humans actively reacting to each other. These videos can be seen as a popular genre of online entertainment, but also as a significant visual artefact of our relations with animals in the age of humans. In this chapter we focus on two viral videos featuring captive orangutans interacting with zoo visitors. The interpretations of ape-human interactions arising from the extensive number of comments posted to the videos are ambivalent in (...) how they see the animals and their assumed capabilities. We argue that the YouTube Zoo could figure as a snapshot of human-animal relations in late modern times: mediating artificial conditions of animals suspended between the wild and the domestic, while offering a screened account of a deeply surprising interaction. The chapter shows the potential of close interactions between humans and animals to destabilise or reinforce the neat divisions between the human and the animal. It also shows the ethical potential of these interactions to either reinforce or question common practices of dealing with wild animals. (shrink)

As a highly technological innovation, cultured meat is the subject of techno-optimistic as well as techno-sceptical evaluations. The chapter discusses this opposition and connects it with arguments about seeing the world in the right way. Both sides not only call upon us to see the world in a very particular light, but also point to mechanisms of selective attention in order to explain how others can be so biased. I will argue that attention mechanisms are indeed relevant for dealing with (...) the Anthropocene, but that dualism has paralysing effects. In a dualistic framework, cultured meat is associated with ecomodernist optimism, bold technological control over nature and alienation from animals. But interested citizens and farmers in focus groups rather envisioned the future of cultured meat through small scale production on farms combined with intensive relations with animals. Such scenarios, involving elements from both sides of the dualistic gap, depend on constructive ways of dealing with dualisms and ambivalence. (shrink)

The development cooperation of wealthy with poor countries—whose modern version started in 1949—is currently much debated. Despite improvements in some countries—notably China—and significant results in social sectors, development cooperation has not, in a sustainable way, eradicated massive severe poverty. Moreover, it never could have since it is a manifestation of modernity-gone-wild with its unsustainable systems of mass production and consumption and unequal power relations. This situation raises the question of whether a normative view of development work could be formulated to (...) avoid the pitfalls of unrealistic expectations, on the one hand, and a reduced economistic approach, on the other. A normative analysis of the practice of development cooperation leads to the conclusion that this practice is founded in and qualified by the formative aspect with meaning-oriented deliberate shaping as normative principle. Religion and worldview play an important role in the direction in which the practice is developing. The view of “development” forms an important element in the directional side of development cooperation. Development in this view is not primarily economic growth, but value realization as the result of cooperative human action in social practices and institutions. Development cooperation should support people in such value realization. (shrink)

"This book provides new interpretations of Heidegger's philosophical method in light of 20th-century postmodernism and 21st-century speculative realism. In doing so, it raises important questions about philosophical method in the age of global warming and climate change. Vincent Blok addresses topics that have yet to be extensively discussed in Heidegger scholarship, including Heidegger's method of questioning, the religious character of Heidegger's philosophical method and Heidegger's conceptualization of philosophical method as explorative confrontation. He is also critical of Heidegger's conceptuality and develops (...) a post-Heideggerian concept of philosophical method, which provides a new perspective on the role of willing, poetry and earth-interest in contemporary philosophy. This earth-interest turns out to be particularly important to consider and leads to critical reflections on Heidegger's concept of Earth, the necessity of Earth-interest in contemporary philosophy and a post-Heideggerian concept of the Earth. Heidegger's Concept of Philosophical Method will be of interest primarily to Heidegger scholars and graduate students, but its discussion of philosophical method and environmental philosophy will also appeal to scholars in other disciplines and areas of philosophy"--. (shrink)

In our time, innovation is considered an important way to address societal problems. That we expect so much from innovation to solve the challenges of our time, makes the question what could count as ‘responsible innovation’ more pressing. And that is what this thesis is about. The aim of this thesis is to offer philosophical reflections on responsible innovation in the business context. Since that is still a quite broad topic, the main title suggests its further focus: deliberation and food. (...) The first focus originates from the idea in the academic literature on responsible innovation, that innovators should not just assess by themselves what ‘responsible’ is, but should invite others to think along with them about the social and ethical aspects of innovation. Chapter 2 to 4 zoom in on this aspect of responsible innovation. The second focus has to do with the specific context of application, namely food and the food industry. Chapter 4 and 5 relate the topic of responsible innovation to this context. The question I raise in chapter 2 is whether the ideal of inclusive deliberation is suitable for innovation processes in businesses. I argue that this is not so easy, and provide different reasons why companies might not be willing to involve societal stakeholders into their innovation processes. First, the requirement of deliberation can be tension with the ability of companies to exploit their innovations commercially within a competitive market. Second, deliberation requires a certain degree of transparency about the innovation strategy of a company. Companies might not be willing to provide this transparency, because they fear knowledge leakage to other companies. Third, companies are controlled most often by people with a financial stake. Therefore, we can expect that financial considerations are decisive in the investment decisions of companies. This could conflict with the ideal of responsible innovation to ‘democratize’ innovation processes. Hence, I suggest that scholars should modify the ideal of deliberation in order to make it suitable to the business context, or they should suggest changes in the governance and regulation of markets so as to make deliberation more workable. Chapter 3 discusses the place of conflict and self-interest in deliberation. It starts with a discussion of the literature on stakeholder dialogue. In this literature, the ideal dialogue is presumed to aim at consensus. This also implies that participants avoid conflict and set self-interested considerations aside. I argue that this ideal of dialogue is problematic, especially for a dialogue between companies and NGOs. I show that companies can never completely set aside their profit-orientation, and hence that this ‘self-interest’ always influences their input in a dialogue. Furthermore, conflict and criticism can be necessary to make clear that societal problems require more attention, whether from the general public or from companies. Since the market is an imperfect institution, we need critical citizens and stakeholders such as NGOs to assess the behavior of companies. A certain degree of conflict between companies and NGOs may therefore be more desirable than a focus on consensus. For these reasons, I develop an alternative approach to dialogue in which conflict and self-interest have a legitimate place, and can even play a productive role. In chapter 4, a case-study is conducted to better understand how participants in a dialogue deal with conflicts. In this case-study, I analyzed different dialogues organized by the foundation ‘Ik Kies Bewust’, which issued a front-of-pack health label. In my analysis, I investigate the conflict between, on the one hand, the value of public health and healthy food, and, on the other hand, the commercial interests of companies. In the responses of companies to this conflict, three patterns became visible. First, companies frame their critics as not constructive, because, in their view, they only criticize but do not help to improve the label. Second, they stressed that they are really and genuinely motivated to make food healthier or to make a healthy food choice easier. Thereby, they seemingly tried to counter the image that they are just motivated to make profit. Third, they called on the government to take more control over the label, because this would make the label more reliable and more broadly adopted. I qualify these responses as defensive, which means that the conflict between commercial considerations and public interests is suppressed or ignored. An active response would require to recognize and confront the conflicts and dilemmas that companies face. The case-study makes clear how difficult it can be to engage in dialogue with critical stakeholders. In chapter 5, I reflect on how food innovation can be responsible. In trying to answer this question, I take a certain detour, by starting a discussion about the place of food in a life well-lived. For this purpose, I use the philosophy of Albert Borgmann. On the basis of my analysis of his philosophy, I argue that there are good reasons for engaging with food in active way, for example by growing your own vegetables and home-cooking, instead of consuming food merely passively. I also draw some implications for food innovation. In my view, people responsible for food innovation should critically assess whether new products or services enhance engagement or disengagement. Is it desirable, for example, to develop even more and better pre-packaged meals, or should we stimulate consumers to cook by themselves? I argue that it would be problematic if our overall pattern of dealing with food is characterized by disengagement and convenience, and hence that food innovation should not only go in this direction. (shrink)

In 2010, the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy concluded that development cooperation lacks a development cooperation ethics. Ethical problems in development cooperation include the neglect of unintended and negative results of development programmes, the employment of methods that are disrespectful of human agency, motives that are publicly professed to be predominantly self-interested, and operative worldviews that are myopic in their focus on only specific development trajectories at the exclusion of others. This thesis responds to this challenge by offering a (...) proposal for an ethical approach to development cooperation. Therefore, the main research question is: how should an encompassing development cooperation ethics look like? The question is answered by deploying the Normative Practice Approach. The NPA is a conceptual and normative framework that enables professionals to deal with tensions within their practices. The NPA is normative in the sense that it articulates both the normative principles that hold for professional practices, and the way they cohere and interact. It is argued in this thesis that development cooperation can be understood as a domain-relative normative practice. Professional development cooperation has its own normative structure; yet, development cooperation is simultaneously geared towards some domain, such as basic education, health care, or agriculture. This thesis focuses on development cooperation in the agro-food domain. Development cooperation as practice has a structural, regulative, and contextual side. The structural side of development cooperation refers to the kind of practice it is. The structural side can be further differentiated into foundational, qualifying, and conditioning modal aspects. Modal aspects refer to ways of being of all entities, including practices. Some fifteen aspects can be distinguished. The formative aspect is foundational for development cooperation in the sense that technical knowledge first makes possible the performance of the practice. At the same time, development cooperation is characterized by facilitation and is therefore seen as qualified by the formative aspect as well, with its normative principle of meaning- oriented design. Facilitating the agency of farmers and other people involved with food production is constitutive for agricultural development cooperation as a practice. Practicing agricultural development cooperation means to build the capability of these actors to produce and trade on fair terms. Conditioning modal aspects with their respective normative principles imply efficient and cost- effective programme planning, playful imagining of different agricultural development scenario’s, and the inclusion of justified interests and the equal consideration of those interests in a development programme. For a meaningful performance of development cooperation, development professionals should simultaneously realize all those normative principles, under the lead of the qualifying normative principle of meaning-oriented shaping. For this, virtuous, development professionals and organizations are needed who give shape to those normative principles in their acting. Because development cooperation is a domain-relative practice, its fruitful and meaningful performance requires that the respective normativity of the various practices in the facilitated agro-food domain will be respected. This thesis provides a detailed normative analysis of livestock development as one sub-cluster in the agro-food domain. Employing the NPA, again qualifying, foundational, and conditioning modal aspects are distinguished. The economic aspect is seen to qualify and the formative aspect to found the livestock farming practice. What this means is that livestock farming realizes its destination by particularly observing economic normativity. Examples of conditioning normativity include social normativity and jural normativity. It is argued that sustainable livestock farming – understood as livestock farming that can be maintained over time – is farming that takes into account this normativity that holds for the livestock farming practice. Faith and religion are important within development cooperation. Religion and religious practices are omnipresent within development contexts, and faith-based organizations play a significant role within development cooperation. Within the NPA, the influence of faith convictions and religious ideas is conceptualized by distinguishing a regulative side next to the structural side of practices. Within agricultural development cooperation, it is helpful to distinguish between different kinds of practices involved, namely farming practice, scientific practice, and faith practice. Within each of these practices faith functions as a worldview. In the farming and scientific practices, however, faith is not qualifying for the practices. There, justice should primarily be done to, respectively, the economic and analytical aspects and their respective normativity. This conceptualization prevents dichotomous models of science-based versus faith-based approaches within agricultural research and development. It is shown in this thesis that in evaluations of dairy development programmes in Kenya, a Cartesian worldview is operative. This appears from a strong emphasis on technology transfer and adoption, on individual women’s control of household resources, and on the neglect of religious understandings in relation to livestock. This Cartesian orientation puts development professionals and organizations for the dilemma of planned development. The problem is that the autonomy of intended beneficiaries and their organizations is implicitly thought to be opposed to that of development professionals and their organizations. It is argued that the dilemma of planned development can be dealt with by doing justice to the normative structure of the development cooperation practice, and conceiving of agency in a broader way than usual in development cooperation ethics. The organizational embedding of professional development practitioners refers to the contextual side of the development cooperation practice. Organizations professionally involved with development cooperation include business, non-governmental, and governmental organizations. Each of these organizational contexts make different legitimate claims on the embedded development cooperation practitioners. On this organizational level, the respective qualifying aspects associated with the different types of organizations should be kept in sight for a meaningful and complementary collaboration among stakeholders in development cooperation. To conclude, it is suggested that the NPA can address the problems in development cooperation through explicitly conceptualizing effectiveness as an appropriate normative principle, conceiving of development cooperation as facilitation, recognizing the importance of an attitude of love, and both acknowledging that worldviews play a role in development professionals’ everyday acting and being responsive to a given normativity as articulated in various worldviews. (shrink)

Nudging is considered a promising approach for behavioural change. At the same time, nudging has raised ethical concerns, specifically in relation to the impact of nudges on autonomous choice. A complexity is that in this debate authors may appeal to different understandings or dimensions of autonomy. Clarifying the different conceptualisations of autonomy in ethical debates around nudging would help to advance our understanding of the ethics of nudging. A literature review of these considerations was conducted in order to identify and (...) differentiate between the conceptualisations of autonomy. In 33 articles on the ethics of nudging, we identified 280 autonomy considerations, which we labelled with 790 unique autonomy codes and grouped under 61 unique super-codes. Finally, we formulated three general conceptualisations of autonomy. Freedom of choice refers to the availability of options and the environment in which individuals have to make choices. Agency involves an individual's capacity to deliberate and determine what to choose. Self-constitution relates to someone's identity and self-chosen goals. In the debate about the ethics of nudging, authors refer to different senses of autonomy. Clarifying these conceptualisations contributes to a better understanding of how nudges can undermine or, on the other hand, strengthen autonomy. (shrink)

A catalogue of recent key publications and initiatives on the topic of food system transitions and transformations from a wide range of angles. Contains hyperlinks for quick connection to web locations.

There is a need to approach the concept of resilience from a more integrated as well as normative perspective. It cannot be a purpose in itself and it relates to a variety of phenomena which need to be taken into account explicitly. Resilience cannot be an alternative for a sustainability focus; rather the two concepts represent two mutually complementing perspectives. This paper presents opportunities which the theory of modal aspects offers for developing such integrated and normative perspectives on resilience in (...) the context of sustainability ambitions. It demonstrates TOMA’s potential to inform model design and selecting indicators for evaluating STE resilience, and to generate rich perspectives on what needs to be considered conceptually and practically in making resilience work for sustainable development. (shrink)

This chapter examines how responsibilities for securing citizens’ food needs have been understood and exercised over time in the Netherlands, and how such responsibilities have recently been affected by the emergence of food banks. In order to assess responsibilities for food needs in this relatively rich society, it is necessary to take into account some general circumstances. First, welfare provisions have been diminished due to financial limitations, neoliberal policies and a globalising economy. As a result, income protection has been reduced. (...) Second, people now need more complex bureaucratic skills, as well as financial literacy, to access welfare provisions and to... (shrink)

Because the techno-economic paradigm of contemporary conceptualizations of innovation is often taken for granted in the literature, this chapter opens up this self-evident notion. First, the chapter consults the work of Joseph Schumpeter, who can be seen as the founding father of the current conceptualization of innovation as technological and commercial. Second, we open up the concept by reflecting on two aspects of Schumpeter’s conceptualization of innovation, namely its destructive and its constructive aspect, based on findings in the history of (...) innovation. Finally, we synthesize our findings and propose an ontic-ontological conceptualization of innovation as ontogenetic process and outcome with six dimensions—newness, political dimension, economic dimension, temporal dimension, human dimension and risk—that moves beyond its technological and commercial orientation. (shrink)