Developmental Moral Progress in Technology Research: the Case of the Personalized Parkinson’s Project

Abstract In this paper, we illustrate how a philosophical focus on interactive and dialogical processes within technology research and development can play a crucial role in discerning moral progress in this area. We underline how dialogical and learning practices with changes in moral motivation in research and development can lead to more morally progressive technology. We first contrast views that attempt to discern moral progress through the identification of benchmarks that enable a comparison between states of affairs (“comparative” accounts) with approaches that focus on moral change in its unfolding, as a continuous development (“developmental” views). After briefly discussing two selected philosophical approaches on the role of technology in moral change to argue that, in these cases, philosophical research does not sufficiently focus on how psychological attitudes of technology researchers can contribute to moral progress, we then illustrate how changes in moral motivation in particular align with “developmental” views of moral progress. Finally, we exemplify how “developmental” views of moral progress can lead to such an understanding by analyzing the example of the Personalized Parkinson’s Project. As a project in medical research, it concerns a sensitive area which includes opportunities for harming the vulnerable and hence moral progress in this area is particularly important. Ultimately, we discuss the role of motivational change and dialogical practices within this research project and thereby illustrate the advantages of taking into account the moral motivation of technology researchers in a developmental view of moral progress.