Analysis Of The Responsibility Of Many People In "Responsible Innovation"

The problem of many hands,as an important matter in traditional engineering ethics,has also been widely applicable in the field of science and technology(S&T)development as well as its following social application,resulting from the essence in the problem itself.The uncertainty of the developing directions and consequences of S&T is increasing rapidly,with the interaction between S&T and society deepening.Therefore,the negative effects of S&T are likely to be enlarged infinitely in reality,to be out of control,or even,to be disastrous.It would be of general and far-reaching significance,to reconsider the problem of many hands from the perspective of S&T and society development,if free from the limitations of the field of engineering ethics.Responsible Innovation(RI)is the main research perspective in the paper when analyzing,or re-examining the problem of many hands prospectively.It is applied to classify different circumstances of the problem by the distinctions of behaviors and consequences,so as to come up with some targeted measures afterwards.The paper attempts to refine some general principles to allocate responsibility to the hands related,and to avoid the arising of the problem,or at least,to decrease its damage.The introduction part presents the basis and significance of the topic,the literature review,the research methods,the innovative points as well as shortages.It is pointed out that RI could provide a new view and approach to solve the problem.Chapter 1 reviews RI,points out its theoretical and practical significance,and makes comparisons to other perspectives.Chapter 2 elaborates the problem's origin,analyzes the connotation and denotation,and makes classifications.Chapter 3 refines five principles in depth:Causality,Knowledge,Freedom,Wrong-doing,and Limitation.Actions are put forward in Chapter 4,coping respectively with two problem types:right to wrong,and wrong to wrong.The paper itself is a general research of the problem of many hands.However,concrete analysis should be made according to the specific issue in reality,obeying the principles above.The paper insists that,when discussing the problem of many hands,it is in indeed the ultimate goal to achieve no,or at least,fewer errors in RI activities.