In an affectionate aside on Vico’s conception of history, which in our own time might have led Vico himself to a fresh reading of technology, Hannah Arendt observes.

It is inevitable, with the multiplication of ontological programs, that one comes to pose what, in the jargon, may be called metaontological questions. Naturally, the stout hearts of philosophers groan at the prospect of spiralling issues; and I myself have no real wish to invent new disciplines. But, confronted with strong and competing ontological claims, one must take a step backward and upward.

While education in ethics and the responsible conduct of research is widely acknowledged as an essential component of graduate education, particularly in the STEM disciplines, little consensus exists on how best to accomplish this goal. Recent years have witnessed a turn toward the use of games in this context. Drawing from two NSF-funded grants, this paper takes a critical look at the use of games in ethics and RCR education. It does so by: setting the development of research and engineering (...) ethics games in wider historical and theoretical contexts, which highlights their promise to solve important pedagogical problems; reporting on some initial results from our own efforts to develop a game; and reflecting on the challenges that arise in using games for ethics education. In our discussion of the challenges, we draw out lessons to improve this nascent approach to ethics education in the STEM disciplines. (shrink)