Adoção de medidas de precaução diante dos riscos no uso das inovações tecnocientíficas

Abstract

I identify precautionary measures that ought to be adopted to prevent or reduce the risk of harmful effects possibly occasioned by the uses of scientific innovations. My argument pays special attention to situations in which there is uncertainty about the risks involved. It maintains that ethically adequate measures need to be informed by the results of scientific research conducted (under appropriate methodological strategies) with the aim of identifying, as far as possible, not only the potential harmful effects and the various mechanisms that may lead to their actual occurrence, but also the conditions by which they would actually occur and their magnitude and probability, as well as discovering how to prevent them or reduce their impact to acceptable levels by means of appropriately enforced regulations. Then, in the final section, I discuss the responsibilities of scientists and their institutions when conducting the research needed to inform the precautionary measures.