Monique Verdin, "Headwaters : Tamaracks + Time : Lake Itasca" (2019), digital assemblage. Photograph taken in 2019; United States War Department map of the route passed over by an expedition into the Indian country in 1832 to the source of the Mississippi River.

Ethics, Values, and Philosophy

Ethical questions permeate nearly every aspect of science and technology, ranging from whether the military should deploy autonomous weapons to how social media companies should handle user data. Some of these dilemmas are global (How will the costs and benefits of climate policies be distributed?) and some are more specific (Who is allowed to compete as a female athlete in world-class athletics?). But they demonstrate that ethics and values are an inescapable component of scientific and technological changes. The essays here unearth the profound ethical and philosophical questions at the heart of these issues.