Soggetto vulnerabile, innovazione tecnologica ed etica della cura

In the field of technoscientific innovation the approach of ethics of care has succeeded due to its proposal of more flexibility, context-sensitivity and participation. In order to deepen the reasons of this success, two versions are considered in this essay: ecofeminism and virtue ethics. However, a set of shortcomings become apparent within this philosophical perspective, such as the indeterminacy of the concept of care (the lack of criteria for assessing the conduct), the shift of the concept of vulnerability from human being to non-human entities (Nature or technology) and the rise of the question of justice, to the extent that some vulnerable people’s needs are neglected within the deliberatory processes on technology.