Science and Engineering Ethics 20 (2):583-595 (2014)
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Abstract |
The debate over the civilian use of nuclear power is highly polarised. We argue that a reasonable response to this deep disagreement is to maintain that advocates of both camps should modify their positions. According to the analysis we propose, nuclear power is neither entirely right nor entirely wrong, but rather right and wrong to some degree. We are aware that this non-binary analysis of nuclear power is controversial from a theoretical point of view. Utilitarians, Kantians, and other moral theorists make sharp, binary distinctions between right and wrong acts. However, an important argument speaking in favour of our non-binary analysis is that it better reflects our considered intuitions about the ethical trade-offs we face in discussions of nuclear power. The aim of this article is to make this argument sharp by explaining how it can be rendered compatible with, and supported by, the Capability Approach, which is quickly becoming one of the most influential frameworks for thinking about human development
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Keywords | Nuclear power Sustainability Risk Degree of moral rightness Moral theory |
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DOI | 10.1007/s11948-013-9452-5 |
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References found in this work BETA
Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach.Martha C. Nussbaum - 2000 - Cambridge University Press.
Well-Being, Agency and Freedom: The Dewey Lectures 1984.Amartya Sen - 1985 - Journal of Philosophy 82 (4):169-221.
View all 15 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Rawls’s Wide Reflective Equilibrium as a Method for Engaged Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Potentials and Limitations for the Context of Technological Risks.Behnam Taebi & Neelke Doorn - 2018 - Science, Technology, and Human Values 43 (3):487-517.
Ethics and Risks in Sustainable Civilian Nuclear Energy Development in Vietnam.L. Naidu & R. Moorthy - 2022 - Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics 22:1-12.
Energy Scenarios and Justice Towards Future Humans.Anders Melin & David Kronlid - 2019 - Etikk I Praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics 1:39-54.
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