Programme for Applied Ethics Research

Programme for Applied Ethics Research

The Programme for Applied Ethics pursues research on several areas within applied ethics. We are pursuing project-based work on how ethics matters for different societal challenges:

  •     ethics and sustainability,
  •     ethics and emerging technologies, including responsible research and innovation, and
  •     corporate social responsibility or business ethics.

research toggler

Ethics and sustainability: food, water, green economy

  • MEATigation - Towards sustainable meat-use in Norwegian food practices for climate mitigation. Aims to explore and transform Norwegian food practices towards reducing meat use (Sophia Efstathiou, project leader)
  • ULTIMATE – indUstry water-utiliTy symbiosis for a sMarter wATer society 1 June 2020 (30 May 2024) under Horizon 2020. May Thorseth is Ethics Officer and member of Project Management Team, and member of WP 4: Examine the socio-political and governance context for WSIS.
  • CRISPRsalmon - Genome editing in salmon farming. Conditions for social and moral acceptance (Myskja, Carson, Moskvik).
  • COOL WINE - Model-guided evolution for balanced attenuation of wine ethanol content by developing non-GMO yeast strains and communities (2019-23, Nydal).
  • UNESCO Chair - Sustainable heritage and environmental management, University of Bergen (Carson). 
  • Horizon 2020 NextGen: Towards a Next Generation of Water Systems and Services for the Circular Economy, 2018-2022, led by KWR Watercycle Research Institute. Thorseth is Ethics Advisor and member of project advisory board (PAB).
  • Horizon 2020 STOP-IT: Strategic, Tactical, Operational Protection of water Infrastrcture against cyber-physical Threats, 2017-2021. Thorseth is independent ethics advisor and member of PAB. 
  • BINGO - Bringing INnovation to onGOing water management - a better future under climate change. EU - Horizon 2020, 2015-2019 (Thorseth –Ethics advisor of the project.)
  • BIOSMART - Managing the transition to a "smart" bioeconomy, funded by NRC, BIONÆR 2015-2018. Led by Centre for Rural Research. (Thorseth partner of WP 4: Social acceptability - ethics and outcomes.)
  • FORFOOD - Frogs, fuel, finance or food? Cultures, values, ethics, arguments and justifications in the management of agricultural land, 2013-2016, funded by Norwegian Research Council SAMKUL, led by Hilde Bjørkhaug Centre for rural Research. (Torseth –Leader of work package: Ethical assessments in the management of agricultural land)
  • ENRI Future - Rights to a Green Future, Uncertainty, Intergenerational Human Rights and Pathways to Realisation, an ESF project running from 2011-2015. (WG led by Thorseth: Investigating the main psychological and institutional obstacles to a sustainable politics.)
  • Horizon 2020 Sunrise: Solar Energy for a Circular Economy, CSA, 2018-2020. Thorseth member of WP 3: Dissemination, communication and education.

Ethics and emerging technologies: biotechnology, health, ICT, Responsible Research and Innovation

  • AFINO - A network and learning centre for responsible research and innovation in Norway aiming to develop new skills and methods to ensure that innovation is responsible, sustainable and just (Carson - leader).
  • The Norwegian Seaweed Biorefinery Platform - (Myskja, Koksvik)
  • Bio-engineered palladium nanoparticles (2018-2021, Nydal).
  • Crossover 2. Well-constructed knowledge commons. 2015-2019  Norwegian Research Council, SAMANSVAR program (Led by Nydal)
  • DrugLogic. NTNU Helse, Strategic research area, NTNU 2015-2018 (Project partner, Nydal).
  • ELSA-Norway. Network project, Norwegian Research Council 2013- 2018 (Led by Nydal)
  • Part of the expert panel of the EU project The Onlife Initiative Concept Reengineering Exercise: rethinking public spaces in the digital transition, an EU expert panel working on future policy in the digital transition realm, 2012. (Thorseth -expert panel member)
  • Development of a plant biotechnology platform for low cost production of industrial enzymes to boost biorefinery of lignocellulose biomass – BIOBOOST Norwegian Research Council 2015-2018. (ELSA work package led by Myskja, Efstathiou as main researcher)
  • Ethos of personalised medicine. ‘Spearhead’ project at the faculty of humanities. 2014-2017 (Nydal, Efstathiou –project members)
  • MARPOL – Enzymatic Modification of Marine Polysaccharides 2013-2016. (ELSA work package led by Myskja –Efstathiou as main researcher, Nydal as project member)
  • ISP-FIDE. Project: Applied Ethics: Technology and Governance of Health and Natural Resource, Norwegian research council, 2012-2015. (Led by Thorseth; Carson –project member)

Animals and animal ethics 

  • GoodAnimal: Animal welfare for Sustainable Futures, 2019-2022, funded by NRC, BIONÆR, led by Ruralis. Thorseth is leader of WP 3e: Ethics.  

Ethics and business development: corporate social responsibility

Research Group on the Ethos of Technology (RESET)

The interdiciplinary Research Group on the Ethos of Technology (RESET) seek to work closely with the relevant research environments, as well as engaging other relevant stakeholders, employing a spectre of related qualitative methods. These include interviews, focus group studies, ethnographic observations, discussions, combined with studies of relevant scientific literature, philosophy and ethics literature, as well as public debate.

The members of the RESET group have already employed this approach successfully in a number of projects and on a number of emerging technologies, gradually refining and improving the methodology. Doing this kind of empirical ethics is a context-sensitive approach, and can be done in several ways, at different stages of technology development.

In addition to such approaches that lend support from social sciences methodology, more classical methods of applied ethics is part of our toolbox, such as casuistry and case based reasoning and reasoning from shared principles, based on reflective equilibrium.