Fritz Allhoff & Patrick Lin 
What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter? 
From Science to Ethics

Ongoing research in nanotechnology promises both innovations and
risks, potentially and profoundly changing the world. This book
helps to promote a balanced understanding of this important
emerging technology, offering an informed and impartial look at the
technology, its science, and its social impact and ethics.

* Nanotechnology is crucial for the next generation of
industries, financial markets, research labs, and our everyday
lives; this book provides an informed and balanced look at
nanotechnology and its social impact

* Offers a comprehensive background discussion on nanotechnology
itself, including its history, its science, and its tools, creating
a clear understanding of the technology needed to evaluate ethics
and social issues

* Authored by a nanoscientist and philosophers, offers an
accurate and accessible look at the science while providing an
ideal text for ethics and philosophy courses

* Explores the most immediate and urgent areas of social impact
of nanotechnology

Table of Content

Preface viii

Unit I What Is Nanotechnology? 1

1 The Basics of Nanotechnology 3

1.1 Definitions and Scales 3

1.2 The Origins of Nanotechnology 5

1.3 The Current State of Nanotechnology 8

1.4 The Future of Nanotechnology 12

1.5 Nanotechnology in Nature and Applications 16

2 Tools of the Trade 20

2.1 Seeing the Nanoscale 21

2.2 Basic Governing Theories 30

3 Nanomaterials 36

3.1 Formation of Materials 36

3.2 Carbon Nanomaterials 37

3.3 Inorganic Nanomaterials 44

4 Applied Nanotechnology 56

4.1 Using Nanomaterials 56

4.2 Nanotechnology Computing and Robotics 62

4.3 Predicting the Future of Technology 67

Unit II Risk, Regulation, and Fairness 71

5 Risk and Precaution 73

5.1 Risk 73

5.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis 79

5.3 Precautionary Principles 82

5.4 Evaluating the Precautionary Principle 89

6 Regulating Nanotechnology 96

6.1 The Stricter-Law Argument 97

6.2 Learning from History 100

6.3 Objections to the Stricter-Law Argument 102

6.4 An Interim Solution? 120

6.5 Putting the Pieces Together 124

7 Equity and Access 126

7.1 Distributive Justice 127

7.2 Nanotechnology and the Developing World 132

7.3 Water Purification 135

7.4 Solar Energy 140

7.5 Medicine 143

7.6 Nanotechnology, the Developing World, and Distributive
Justice 145

Unit III Ethical and Social Implications 151

8 Environment 153

8.1 Society, Technology, and the Environment 154

8.2 Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology 159

8.3 Nanotechnology Solutions to Environmental Problems 161

8.4 Overall Assessments: Risk and Precaution 168

9 Military 170

9.1 The Military and Technology 170

9.2 A Nano-Enabled Military 173

9.3 A Nano-Enabled Defense System 177

9.4 Ethical Concerns 179

10 Privacy 185

10.1 Historical and Legal Background 186

10.2 Philosophical Foundations 192

10.3 Radio Frequency Identity Chips 198

10.4 Item-Level Tagging 201

10.5 Human Implants 204

10.6 RFID-Chipped Identification 207

10.7 Is RFID a Threat to Privacy? 210

11 Medicine 215

11.1 The Rise of Nanomedicine 216

11.2 Diagnostics and Medical Records 219

11.3 Treatment 223

11.4 Moving Forward 227

12 Human Enhancement 230

12.1 What is Human Enhancement? 231

12.2 Defining Human Enhancement 234

12.3 The Therapy-Enhancement Distinction 237

12.4 Human Enhancement Scenarios 240

12.5 Untangling the Issues in Human Enhancement 243

12.6 Restricting Human Enhancement Technologies? 252

13 Conclusion 254

13.1 Chapter Summaries 255

13.2 Final Thoughts and Future Investigations 258

References 261

Index 282

About the author

Fritz Allhoff is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University.

Patrick Lin is Professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he is also the director of the Ethics + Emerging Technologies Group. He is also an affiliate scholar at the Stanford Law School, Center for Internet and Society.

Daniel Moore is a research scientist on nanoscale semiconductor solutions for IBM and has served on the Georgia Institute of Technology’s honor committee.