In our time, which we could also call "the age of scientific wonders," the developments taking place in the scientific and technological fields are so significant and rapid that they confront us with unprecedented challenges. New technologies almost always have both a positive and a negative side, meaning they have the potential to facilitate human life, but they can also create possible dangers for the human species.
In this book, we attempt to explore on one hand the ethical implications of the modern ecological crisis, and on the other hand the ethical dilemmas created by the rapid developments in the field of biosciences.
Foreword xi
Introductory Elements xiii
PART 1: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
1. Ethics and Science 3
2. Technology and Environment
The concept of the environment 15
Relationship between technology and the environment: historical overview 20
3. From the Ethics of Domination to the Ethics of Coexistence
The dominating and possessive attitude of humans 25
The need for a new perspective towards the world around us 31
4. Some Extensions in the Discussion of Modern Environmental Ethics 35
5. Environmental Ethics and Environmental Education 39
6. Conclusions 41
PART 2: THE CHALLENGES OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN BIOSCIENCES
1. The completion of the human genome mapping and its implications 45
2. The genetic redesign of humans and the possibility of modifying their characteristics 51
3. Genetic engineering of plants and animals 55
4. Euthanasia 59
5. Cloning 63
6. Research on embryonic stem cells 67
7. Conclusions 71
References 75
Bibliography 77
Index 81
