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)

One of the pressing issues in philosophy of technology is the role of human creativity in human-technology relations. We first observe that a techno-centric orientation of philosophy of technology leaves open the role and contribution of human creativity in technological evolution, while an anthropocentric orientation leaves open the role of the technical milieu in technological evolution. Subsequently, we develop a concept of creation as deviation and responsiveness in response to affordances in the environment, inspired by the affordance theory by James (...) Gibson. With this concept of creation as deviative responsiveness, we articulate the human contribution to human-technology creation, namely, our intentional deviation of the inhibiting forces of the currently dominant niche or meaningful world of human-technology relations, in order to become responsive to new affordances in human-technology creation that constitute a new niche or world of human-technology relations. (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)

Food and beverage firms are frequently criticised for their impact on the spread of non-communicable diseases like obesity and diabetes type 2. In this article we explore under what conditions the sales and marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products is irresponsible. Starting from the notion of ordinary morality we argue that firms have a duty to respect people’s autonomy and adhere to the principle of non-maleficence in both market and non-market environments. We show how these considerations are relevant when (...) thinking about immoral behaviour in the food and beverage industry, and identify under what conditions sales and marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to adults and children is wrong. Based on this analysis we argue that firms should take into account: whether consumers are able to identify manipulative marketing, the degree of manipulation, as well as the negative impact a product has on health. We hold that for the food industry to act responsible it should re-evaluate the marketing of unhealthy products to adults and refrain from marketing to children. We conclude this study by making several recommendations on how the food industry should interact with consumers and highlight what changes need to be made in corporate practice. (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)

This chapter explores the concept and practice of responsible management of innovation. Responsible innovation is a key response to the grand challenges faced by society, helping to develop innovations with society in mind, and limit any unintended consequences. Responsible managers with influence over innovations need knowledge and understanding of how responsible innovation applies to their roles and how as individuals they can manage innovation responsibly. While the application of responsible innovation to these contexts faces a number of practical and conceptual (...) challenges, this chapter will focus on the contribution and potential of responsible management of innovation processes to provide economic and societal benefits. This chapter explores these issues through the perspective of individual managers, at the level of the organisation and finally at the level of the innovation system. (shrink)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting health and economic crisis has caused major disruptions in the functioning of food systems and revived the discussion on what forms balanced, effective and responsible crisis management. As part of its thought leadership and its social responsibility in times of crisis, WUR is uniquely placed to contribute to the scientific knowledge base and data collection mechanisms required for early recognition and rapid response. In addition, WUR takes on the challenge to generate timely insights into (...) the possible scenarios for the prevention of a crisis and during and after emergencies to enable our clients and stakeholders to make informed decisions. Lastly, WUR can provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of spillover, and tangible and practical tools to help reduce the risk of spillover events from occurring, prevent pathogen spread, or mitigate the impacts of a future pandemic. In its research institutes and university, WUR brings together expertise in human, animal, plant and environmental health, the global agri-food system, economics, social sciences, food safety and security, ethics, and policy. Here, in the knowledge that COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, we present WUR’s ambition and capabilities towards an integrated global multi-stakeholder approach to the prevention and management of potentially pandemic diseases, across the four phases of crisis management; prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery and learning. (shrink)

In the original publication of the article, last three columns of Tables 6 and 7 were published incorrectly. The correct version of Tables 6 and 7 are provided below. The original version was updated.

R&D collaborations between industry, government, civil society, and research ) have recently gained attention from R&D theorists and practitioners. In aiming to come to grips with their complexity, past models have generally taken a stakeholder-analytical approach based on stakeholder types. Yet stakeholder types are difficult to operationalise. We therefore argue that a processual model is more suited for studying the interaction in QHCs because it eschews matters of titles and identities. We develop such a model in which the QHC is (...) represented as a process of generating four types of value: research value, market value, political value, and societal value. We then apply this processual model in analysing real-life cases of friction in QHCs. Friction is seen, not as an interpersonal clash, but as a discrepancy between two or more value-creation processes that compete for limited resources. (shrink)

This Open Access book brings together authoritative voices in animal and environmental ethics, who address the many different facets of changing human-animal relationships in the Anthropocene. As we are living in complex times, the issue of how to establish meaningful relationships with other animals under Anthropocene conditions needs to be approached from a multitude of angles. This book offers the reader insight into the different discussions that exist around the topics of how we should understand animal agency, how we could (...) take animal agency seriously in farms, urban areas and the wild, and what technologies are appropriate and morally desirable to use regarding animals. This book is of interest to both animal studies scholars and environmental ethics scholars, as well as to practitioners working with animals, such as wildlife managers, zookeepers, and conservation biologists. (shrink)

To what extent fish can experience suffering and enjoyment is not just an empirical question, but one that also calls for ethical reflection. This is firstly, because animal welfare research is value laden and secondly, because the empirical evidence requires a normative framework in order to become action guiding in practices involving fish, such as aquaculture. In this chapter, we describe the role of ethics and different ethical theories that have been applied in animal ethics and that are relevant for (...) discussions on fish welfare. We particularly focus on utilitarian, rights based, relational, and virtue ethical animal ethics theories. We furthermore argue that fish welfare is a term that combines moral norms and biological concepts. After all, when we implement fish welfare measures we have already made certain normative choices. We illustrate the integration between ethics and science in seven steps, from implementing fish welfare at the farm level, to weighing welfare against other values, defining and measuring welfare, to the questions of why welfare is morally relevant and what this means for the moral status of fish. We then consider the question of whether fish should be attributed to moral status and hence whether their welfare should be taken into account in our moral deliberations. However, not all moral concerns regarding our treatment of fish can be addressed by focussing on welfare. We discuss a number of concerns beyond welfare that need to be taken into consideration in a moral discussion on how to relate to fish: does the killing of fish constitute a moral harm? and how should we morally evaluate the process of domesticating fish in aquaculture? The chapter concludes by pointing out a number of moral issues in four practices involving fish: aquaculture, wild fisheries, experimentation, and recreation. (shrink)

The embedding and promotion of social change is faced with aparadoxical challenge. In order to mainstream an approach to socialchange such as responsible research and innovation and makeit into a practical reality rather than an abstract ideal, we need tohave conceptual clarity and empirical evidence. But, in order to beable to gather empirical evidence, we have to presuppose that theapproach already exists in practice. This paper proposes a social labmethodology that is suited to deal with this circularity. Themethodology combines the (...) defining features of social labs emergingfrom the literature such as agility and real-world focus withestablished theories and approaches such as action research andexperiential learning. Thereby it enables the parallel investigationand propagation of RRI. The framework thus constructed provides atheoretical embedding of sociallabs and overcomes some of theknown limitations of the constitutive approaches. (shrink)

Introduction It is increasingly considered important that people make an autonomous and informed decision concerning colorectal cancer screening. However, the realisation of autonomy within the concept of informed decision-making might be interpreted too narrowly. Additionally, relatively little is known about what the eligible population believes to be a 'good' screening decision. Therefore, we aimed to explore how the concepts of autonomous and informed decision-making relate to how the eligible CRC screening population makes their decision and when they believe to have (...) made a 'good' screening decision. Methods We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with the eligible CRC screening population. The general topics discussed concerned how people made their CRC screening decision, how they experienced making this decision and when they considered they had made a 'good' decision. Results Most interviewees viewed a 'good' CRC screening decision as one based on both reasoning and feeling/intuition, and that is made freely. However, many CRC screening non-participants experienced a certain social pressure to participate. All CRC screening non-participants viewed making an informed decision as essential. This appeared to be the case to a lesser extent for CRC screening participants. For most, experiences and values were involved in their decision-making. Conclusion Our sample of the eligible CRC screening population viewed aspects related to the concepts of autonomous and informed decision-making as important for making a 'good' CRC screening decision. However, in particular the existence of a social norm may be affecting a true autonomous decision-making process. Additionally, the present concept of informed decision-making with its strong emphasis on making a fully informed and well-considered decision does not appear to be entirely reflective of the process in practice. More efforts could be made to attune to the diverse values and factors that are involved in deciding about CRC screening participation. (shrink)

Historically, scientific and engineering expertise has been key in shaping research and innovation policies, with benefits presumed to accrue to society more broadly over time. But there is persistent and growing concern about whether and how ethical and societal values are integrated into R&I policies and governance, as we confront public disbelief in science and political suspicion toward evidence-based policy-making. Erosion of such a social contract with science limits the ability of democratic societies to deal with challenges presented by new, (...) disruptive technologies, such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, automation and robotics, and artificial intelligence. Many policy efforts have emerged in response to such concerns, one prominent example being Europe's Eighth Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, whose focus on “Responsible Research and Innovation” provides a case study for the translation of such normative perspectives into concrete policy action and implementation. Our analysis of this H2020 RRI approach suggests a lack of consistent integration of elements such as ethics, open access, open innovation, and public engagement. On the basis of our evaluation, we suggest possible pathways for strengthening efforts to deliver R&I policies that deepen mutually beneficial science and society relationships. (shrink)