This book comprehensively reviews the considerations of nanotechnology elaborated in philosophy, ethics, and the social sciences and systematizes and develops them further. It focuses on the issues of ethical responsibility regarding chances and risks of nanotechnology and its possible applications in the fields of synthetic nanoparticles, synthetic biology, animal enhancement, and human enhancement. The book has been, thus, put in the context of the keywords "responsible innovation" and "reflective sciences," which have been central concepts in the debates about the relationship between science and society for the last few years.

Nanotechnology in Context Ethics, Technology, and Risk Ethics of Nano(Bio)Technology: The Program Ethics of Nano(Bio)Technology: An Overview Synthetic Nanoparticles Toward Creating Artificial Life Animal Enhancement Human Enhancement Explorative Nanophilosophy: More Than Applied Ethics Conclusions and Perspectives