Ethics in Plant and Environmental Sciences

Scope

When performing research and communicating the findings and conclusions scientists may be confronted with ethical dilemmas, some which they at first had not expected to be confronted. The question accordingly is how to deal with these dilemmas. This requires an insight in the ethical values and how these can be interpreted in the scientific context. This course focuses on ethical issues that are encountered when doing research in plant and environmental sciences. It includes hands-on dealings with ethical, philosophical, and societal issues surrounding science.

Learning goals

• To gain a fair understanding of what environmental/agricultural ethics involves:

  • The normative character of ethics
  • Imaginations of how the world should (ideally) be
  • A practical orientation of ethics
  • Critical reflection on normative arguments and basic concepts
• Critical assessment of arguments about nature and naturalness; the intrinsic value of nature/biodiversity
• Experience with joint deliberation about several practical ethical questions: (e.g. genetic engineering; environmental restoration and feeding ‘wild’ animals; ethical dilemmas in nature-inclusive agriculture)
• Reflection on the role of scientists in relation to societal/ethical debates

We recommend taking this course in combination with Research Integrity (RI), which focuses on key principles of good science and good scientific conduct, and on (ways of coping with) integrity tensions.

Programme

1. Introduction: ethics in practice + ethics game
2. Fundamental questions
Lunch
3. Ethics of gene drive and de-extinction
4. Reflection on the role of science and scientists in ethical/societal debate

General information

Registration

Go to Registration form (registration deadline: registration currently closed)

Next edition of this course 

TBA

Course duration

1 day

Credit points

0.3 ECTS

Language

English

Group size

Max. 25 participants

Fee

Cancellation conditions

You may cancel free of charge up to four weeks before the start of the course. After this date you will be charged the University fee. Unless:

• You can find someone to replace you in the course and supply the
  course coordinator with the name and contact information of your
  replacement.
  
  In this case you will only be charged a € 50,- cancellation fee.

• You (PhDs and postdocs of Wageningen University) have a valid
  reason to cancel (illness or death in the family 1st or 2nd degree).

In this case you will be charged the reduced fee and your supervisor/PI
must send a mail indicating the reason for cancellation.

Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us. By NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is NOT automatically cancelled (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions).

Also note that when there are not enough participants, we can cancel the course. We will inform you if this is the case a week after the early bird deadline. Please take this into account when arranging your trip to the course (I.e. check the re-imburstment policies).