The Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics has
had multiple origins. It was when contributing an article
on the philosophy of technology to the pioneering first
edition of the Encyclopedia of Bioethics (1978), that I
began to dream of a more general encyclopedic introduction
to issues of technology and ethics. Inspired by
the perspective of scholars as diverse as Jacques Ellul
and Hans Jonas, bioethics appeared only part of a comprehensive
need to grapple intellectually with the
increasingly technological world in which we live. This
idea was pursued in a state-of-the-field chapter on ‘‘Philosophy
of Technology’’ in A Guide to the Culture of Science,
Technology, and Medicine (1980) edited by one of
my mentors, Paul T. Durbin. Thus when Stephen G.
Post, the editor of the third edition of the Encyclopedia
of Bioethics (2004), suggested to Macmillan the idea of a
more general ‘‘Encyclopedia of Technoethics,’’ with me
as potential editor, I was primed to be enthusiastic—
although I also argued that the field should now be
expanded to include ethics in relation to both science
and technology.
A high-school attraction to philosophy as critical
reflection on how best to live had early morphed into
the critical assessment of scientific technology. In contemporary
historical circumstances, what has a more
pervasive influence on the way we live than modern
technology? My initial scholarly publications thus
sought to make philosophy and technology studies a
respected dimension of the academic world. Over the
course of my curriculum vitae this concern further
broadened to include science, technology, and society
(STS) studies. Given the narrow specializations of professional
philosophy, STS seemed better able to function
as a home base for philosophy of technology. In
fact, in the mid-1980s, George Bugliarello, George
Schillinger, and I (all colleagues at Brooklyn Polytechnic
University) made a proposal to Macmillan Reference
for an Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and
Society.’’ That proposal was declined, but a version
eventually found truncated expression in The Reader’s
Adviser, 14th edition, vol. 5, The Best in Science, Technology,
and Medicine (1994), co-edited with William F.
Williams, a colleague at Pennsylvania State University,
where I served for a period during the 1990s as director
of the Science, Technology, and Society Program. Thus
when the opportunity arose to edit an encyclopedia on
science, technology, and ethics, I also wanted not to
limit such a reference work to ethics in any narrow
sense.
Other associations that broadened my perceptions
in both philosophy and STS in ways that have found
modest reflections here should also be mentioned. One
was the collegiality of two professional associations, the
Society for the Philosophy of Technology (founded
1980) and the Association for Practical and Professional
Ethics (founded 1991), with members from both becoming
contributors. Service as a member of the Committee
on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science,
1994–2000, was one of the most professionally rewarding
experiences of my career, and contributed its own
perspective. Finally, the critical fellowship of Ivan Illich
introduced me to friends and ideas with whom I might
not always agree though they seldom failed to inspire.