Abstract
Philosophers of technology have identified various mechanisms through which technology can change moral norms, values, beliefs and practices. Danaher and Sætra (2023) offer a useful systematization of these mechanisms, with no claim to being exhaustive. We contribute to their work by analyzing how the mediating role of moral concepts fits into this scheme. First, we point out that concepts mediate the moral effects of technological changes, a process we call conceptual mediation. We illustrate this with the concepts of ‘brain death’ and ‘reproductive autonomy’, whose moral implications crystallized in the interplay with new medical technologies. Subsequently, we argue that conceptual mediation is best understood as a type of second-order mediation, which channels the moral implications of the first-order technological mediations identified by Danaher and Sætra (decisional, relational, perceptual). We conclude that second-order mediation plays a central and underappreciated role in processes of technomoral change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Ethical Theory and Moral Practice |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 27 Jan 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025.
Funding
JH and RH acknowledge funding from the ESDiT Gravitation programme of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the NWO, under grant number 024.004.031. JH additionally acknowledges funding from the NWO VENI grant, under grant number VI.Veni.221 F.043.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture | |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 024.004.031, VI.Veni.221 F.043 |
Keywords
- Concepts
- Conceptual mediation
- Moral theory
- Reproductive autonomy
- Second-order effects
- Technology
- Technomoral change