English Lecture Series: Chinese Philosophy and Modern Perspectives

全英文系列讲座：中国哲学与当代视界

Lecture Four：Towards a Confucian Ethics of Technology

第四讲：儒家科技伦理

Speaker 主讲人：Wang Xiaowei 王小伟

Date 日期: 10.13, 2022, Thursday 周四

Time 时间：14:00-15:30

Place 地点：Lide Building 立德楼0709

Tencent meeting ID 腾讯会议ID: 69945518805

Back up ID 备用会议号：81085252846

Bilibili B站直播间ID：22391891

Abstract: 

With AI and Gene-editing tools, modern technologies unprecedentedly empower us. Yet, with their disruptive nature, globally deployed technologies also pose severe challenges for the human race. Philosophers expect to develop frameworks to comprehend the pros and cons of modern technology, where ethical deliberation should play a central role. Ethics of Technology often serves as a sub-field of ethics. As a branch of applied ethics, it utilizes classic ethical theories, virtues ethics, utilitarianism, deontology, etc., to analyze technological risks. Numerous scholars have hailed diversifying the ethical discourse, engaging non-western ethics, Confucianism and Buddhism tradition, etc., to make the discussion inclusive. Most prominently, Joel Kupperman sees current mainstream ethics as "big moment ethics"—mainly focused on one-off decisions, thus failing to address everyday ethical challenges that are often highly contextualized. To Kupperman, Confucianism, with its emphasis on constant self-improvement, could complement "big moment ethics" in offering an alternative that attends to everyday life.

       In this lecture, we will present the first-ever defense of a Confucian ethic of technology, elaborating on what this approach is generally about and why it is relevant. We will start with a general clarification on methodology, followed by a response to Morten Bay's criticism of the efficacy of Confucian ethics of technology. Then we move on to articulate some essentials of Confucian ethics of technology.

About the speaker:

Wang Xiaowei is currently an associate professor at Renmin University. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Utrecht University. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of science, technology, and ethics.

Host: School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China

主办单位：中国人民大学哲学院