Abstract
Nanotechnology has from its very beginning been surrounded with an aura of novelty that calls for a philosophical analysis. In order to do so, I first try to clarify the different meanings of the concept of novelty. This helps us understand that many paradoxes and fallacies dominate ordinary discourses on novelty, which any serious approach needs to avoid. Equipped with these conceptual clarifications, I discuss novelty first in science and engineering in general and point out the unique role that novelty plays in these areas. Then I discuss the novelty of nanotechnology by distinguishing between different levels and aspects of nanotechnology. The results allow reassessing public novelty claims about nanotechnology not only from an epistemological but also from ethical and political perspectives. I conclude with some remarks on the politics of producing and claiming novelty.
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Notes
- 1.
One might be inclined to add fashion here. However, the recurrent stylistic repertoires and, indeed, the launches of “retro looks” clearly disqualify fashion from being a cultural area focused on novelty. Fashion works with relative novelty that depends on the time period after which consumers are willing to buy new products.
- 2.
Interestingly, peer referees have a strong aversion to novelty rhetoric, i.e. they frequently criticize authors if they use terms such as “novel” or “new” in their manuscripts, instead of clarifying the novelty of their research by references to the pertinent literature (Daniel 1993).
- 3.
For instance, the US committee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) that launched the National Nanotechnology Initiative, defined nanotechnology as: “Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1–100 nm range, to provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials at the nanoscale and to create and use structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size.” (http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/nano/omb_nifty50.htm, retrieved in 2004).
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Schummer, J. (2014). On the Novelty of Nanotechnology: A Philosophical Essay. In: Gordijn, B., Cutter, A. (eds) In Pursuit of Nanoethics. The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6817-1_2
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