Value pluralism and decision making

A comment

Setting value based priorities in a world of value pluralism

• Different values must be respected and must to be taken into account if decisions with ethical consequences are to be accepted

• Policy decisions may need ethical justification for acceptance—who and how– Ethical committees, advising governments

international organizations – Frameworks/process to provide ethical guidance in

decision process– Ethical delphi/consensus/ ethical matrix and many

others

Deciding how to decide

• No single generic framework that can be used to assess and manage ethical issues across all technologies/issues or over the life-cycle of these

• Key Framework characteristics for deliberations– Democratic deliberation– ethical pluralism

• Ethical Matrix fulfills these characteristics as does the ethical delphi, consensus groups• (Beauchamps et Childress, 1979, 2001 , Mepham 1995,2005)

Ethical Matrix: an ethical tool in food and agricultural ethics

• Well being, autonomy and justice—columns– Specific definitions are a function of the issue

• Stakeholders/interest groups -- rows– Broad range of interest groups

• Applications: biotechnology acceptance/taxes/

Ethical matrix example: future challenges of fisheries in Norway

• Question: to enforce a special tax for the usage of common resources like sea and coastline.

• Future consequences of measure not uniquely economic potential– Basic uncertainty about future developments/cc/– Ethical scenarios---future scenarios and ethical

consequences of each

Justice Dignity Well-beingFishermen Equql rights –categories Right to control work

situation & respectSafe/secure workplace & income

Fishing industry Equal terms as for fisheries and other

Acknowledge place in value chain

Stable deliveries fro,m the industry

Other users marine Equal access to resources Respect for their needs and use of sea and coast

Access to welfare goods directed at marine activities as other users

Society Equal living conditions urban rural

Freedom to manage resources for welfare of society as a whole

Income from marine activities

Consumers Quality products for different groups

Choice and possibility to influence food products

Healthy food in adequate amts

Future generations Conservation of marine environment

Knowing that other generations acted respect for their welfare

No activities that threaten health or living conditions

Biosphere Diffusion of a viable level of burdens to all society

Limit harm to nature Fish & other animals not exposed to unnecessary pain

Ethical scenario process

• Acceptable consequence: does not violate priority values and respects as many values as possible.

• Mapping of values and weighting of them– Pluses(respected values),minuses(violated

values),and zeros(values not relevant)