Green Dreams of Reason. Green Nanotechnology Between Visions of Excess and Control |
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Authors: | Astrid E Schwarz |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Philosophy, Technical University Darmstadt, Schloss, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany |
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Abstract: | Nanotechnology has recently been identified with principles of sustainability and with a ‘green’ agenda generally. Some maintain that this green dream of nanotechnology is a rather ephemeral societal phenomenon that owes its existence to
the campaign ploys of politics and business. This paper argues that deeper lying societal and cognitive structures are at
work here that complement or even substantiate in some sense the seemingly manipulative saying of a greening of nanotechnologies.
Taking seriously the concept of ‘green nano’, this paper examines the common ground between sustainability discourse and the
discourse of nanotechnology. Green nanotechnology is understood as a boundary concept in which disparate discourses and concepts
join together. The primary concern of the paper is to show that nanodiscourse and ecodiscourse share visions of control and
of excess. Both ecotechnology and nanotechnology accept and incorporate arguments about limited growth, and each develops
strategies of control—be it through a new-found precision in the control of material flows or through greater efficiency in
product design. |
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