The Hermeneutic Side Of Responsible Research And Innovation

It is easy to call for responsibility but often it is hard to make the meaning of responsibility clear and transparent. This situation is particularly challenging in the area of new and emerging technologies. Usually, there is only little knowledge available about their consequences for humans and society if any. Instead, speculative futures such as visions, utopian or dystopian views, expectations, hopes and fears dominate public and ethical debates. This book explores the meaning of responsibility in this situation. It claims that the narratives of the future mentioned should be made subject to a hermeneutical analysis in order to uncover their meaning and to enable science and society to deal with them transparently and responsibly.