期刊名称：Hyle : International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry
印刷版ISSN：1433-5158
出版年度：2017
卷号：23
期号：1
页码：5-27
出版社：HYLE Publications, Karlsruhe and University of Karlsruhe
摘要：While most chemicals produce, or have produced, direct and intentionaleffects, many may also cause significant unintended outcomes. In thisregard, chemicals are ethically ambivalent. It is not easy to balance the positiveand negative consequences, nor is it straightforward to include uncertain futureeffects within an ethical analysis. Therefore, it is pertinent to develop andimplement a method for identifying, assessing, and balancing the ethical issuesassociated with the production and use of chemical substances. Such a methodfor accommodating an ethical evaluation is presented in this paper, being testedand exemplified using the case of DDT. Within the DDT case three majorclusters of ethical problems are identified: the first concerning environmentalethics while another relates to the impact on human health, including, in particular,the lethal, carcinogenic, and sub-lethal aspects introduced by suspectedendocrine disrupting effects. The third ethical concern focuses on the subjectof justice and the distribution of risks, costs, and benefits.
