Nanotechnologies, bioethics and human dignity

Résumé

Nanoscale science, research, and technology present a complex set of circumstances. First of all, thisfield involves
many differentsubjects, including biology, chemistry, physics, and environmentsciences. Secondly, although scientists
are working increasingly at a molecular level, nanotechnology is about much more than a reduction of scale. Indeed,
nanoscience and Nanotechnologies offer an unprecedented ability to control and manipulate nature, offering hope for
progress.
Ethical perspectives vary considerably in this field, but commentators and researchers share a concern about a
specific worrisome issue: the lack of appropriate ethical and legal principles and processes (associated with issues
including health risks, human body manipulation, and private life violation), to guide nanotechnological R&D,
commercialization, and final use. Some authors partially reject this concern by suggesting that Nanoscience and
Nanotechnologies do not constitute an autonomous category, and that they are instead just the operative result of
combining other traditional areas of study. However, the nanotechnological debate brings up the semantic and
content issues of bioethics and foments a contentious discussion emphasizing human dignity. Issues include
enhancement versus therapeutic intervention, traceability versus privacy, and societal benefits versus risks.
From these preliminary considerations, we will move on to discuss (I) the traditional, although still controversial,
relationship between bioethics and human dignity, and (II) return to the subject of nanotechnology. We will discuss
how today in Europe, although still indefinite, the principle of respect for human dignity is a welcomed contributor
to “ethical vigilance” about the uncertain development of new nano-scale technologies. We will also note how U.S.
strategy in this regard is simply lacking and appears only as a purely discursive “key issue in long term