Technology and its Ethics

This research represents basic research in the field of caring science. The purpose of this research is to develop an ideal model for the preconditions of the ethics of technology, and the aim is to gain knowledge and new evidence of the concept of technology and its ethics in caring science. The starting points of the research were in caritative caring science and its value basis and tradition, which formed the interpretation horizon in this hermeneutic research. The human good and the dignity of human being are the fundamental values in the ethics of caring science and in this research.The main research questions were: What is the concept of technology? What is the ethics of the concept of technology? What is the ideal model of the ethics and caring of technology in caring science?The methodology used to search for answers to the research questions were hermeneutic interpretation and hermeneutic concept determination. The research comprises four sub-studies and a summary section which answers the main study questions. The purpose of the first sub-study was to determine the ontology of the concept of technology. The purpose of the second sub-study was to describe and summarise the concept of technology and its ethics in previous nursing and caring literature. The third sub-study was carried out to describe patients’ experiences of technology in care in previous nursing and caring literature, aiming to highlight and emphasise the patient’s perspective to technology incare. The fourth sub-study was carried out to gain new knowledge of ethics in the context of technology. The sub-studies two, three and four formed the contextual determination of the concept of technology, while sub-study one determined the ontology of the concept of technology. The ideal model of the ethics of technology was developed on the basis of the new evidence gained from the sub-studies and its reflection with the knowledge from the pre-understanding and the interpretation horizon of the research at the end of the hermeneutic research circle.The core of the ideal model of technology and its ethics is the idea of technology, which is to serve, fulfil the purpose and ethos of the substance matter. The purpose of technology is to promote the human good. The basic of serving is to dignify the unique, whole and autonomous human being.Technology is universal but also unique. Technology is universal but it needs to be tailored in the service of unique human being. Technology in itself has an ethical dimension. The idea of technology and its ethics are linked to human good, human being’s freedom, and the freedom to choose and realise self- determination. Technology is related to the substance where it is used, and the substance is the priority. Caring communion and patient education are the meansto realise the ethics of technology in caring science. Technology is knowledge, art, devices, processes and services which serve for the good of human being. The human good is arête. It is important to know patients’ experiences of technology and its good and caring from a patient centred-perspective. Together with the theoretical knowledge of the concept of technology and its ethics, knowledge of patients’ experiences of technology form the basis of good and well-serving technology. The common understanding of the concept of technology, i.e., what it is, what its ethics is and what are the preconditions to realise the ethics, the human good, in the context of technology in caring science formed the theoretical basis to develop the technology of caring as a subarea of caring science. Knowledge of the concept of technology and its ethics and also of the preconditions of the ethics of technology can serve both the development of technology and caring practice.Keywords: caring science, basic research, caring, nursing, technology, ethics, ethos