Abstract

De Dijn's book Taboes, monsters en loterijen is a succesful attempt to overcome the narrowness of much of the applied ethics that is dominant in our technological culture.However on two points the position of the author could be corroborated. In the first place the suggestion of a general accepted idea about human nature on which ethics could be built, turns out to be based mainly on the Christian-humanist western tradition. Theargument could be strengthened either by adopting a certain etnocentrism or by droppingthe central concept of human nature. Secondly, the fundamental independence that De Dijn claims for ethics in a technological culture is belied by an already long tradition of research in STS (Science, Technology, Society). It seems better to acknowledge these empirical findings and to develop a position that accepts the interaction between technology and ethics as a starting point for a critical analysis