Moving from value sensitive design to virtuous practice design
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-10-2018-0080 |
| Published date | 13 May 2019 |
| Date | 13 May 2019 |
| Pages | 196-209 |
| Author | Wessel Reijers,Bert Gordijn |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information & communications technology |
Moving from value sensitive
design to virtuous practice design
Wessel Reijers
Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy, and
Bert Gordijn
Institute of Ethics, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paperis to develop a critique of value sensitive design (VSD) and to propose
an alternative approach that does not depart from a heuristic of value(s), but from virtue ethics, called
virtuouspractice design (VPD).
Design/methodology/approach –This paper develops a philosophical argument, draws from a
philosophical method(i.e. virtue ethics) and applies this method to a particular casestudy that draws from a
narrativeinterview.
Findings –In this paper, authors show how an approach that takes virtue insteadof value as the central
notion foraiming at a design that is sensitive to ethicalconcerns can be fruitful both in theory and inpractice.
Originality/value –This paper presents the first attempt to ground an approach aimed at ethical
technology design on the tradition of virtue ethics. As such, it presents VPD as a potentially fruitful
alternativeto VSD.
Keywords Value based design, Virtue ethics, Value sensitive design, Virtuous practice design
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In recent decades, a burgeoning literature on methods for practising ethics in research and
innovation (R&I) settings has emerged (Reijers et al., 2017). These methods aim at
anticipating the ethical impacts of emerging technologies, evaluating the ethical impacts of
existing technologies, and/or enabling, ensuring and organising what we might call ethical
technology design. One of the most prominent approaches in this field, especially with
regard to ethicaltechnology design, is the value sensitive design (VSD)approach, which was
developed by Batya Friedman in the 1990s. It initially focussed on computer science and
information systems research (Friedman, 1996;Friedman and Kahn, 2002). Later on, the
approach was adopted to practise VSD for myriad applications of R&I, such as care robots
(Van Wynsberghe, 2013), urban simulation planning (Borning et al.,2004), shale gas
exploitation (Dignum et al.,2016) and nano-medicine (Timmermans et al.,2011). The great
merit of VSD is that it offers a way for ethics and sociological studies concerned with
normative issues to enter practical settings in which R&I activities take place. In other
words, it offers an “integrated”approach to ethics in design (Cummings, 2006, p. 713).
However, VSD should not be considered a complete design methodology but an approach
that can integrate ethical concerns in existing design practices (Timmermans et al.,2011,
p. 280).
Funding: This research is partly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement No 716350).
JICES
17,2
196
Received23 October 2018
Revised7 December 2018
Accepted11 January 2019
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.17 No. 2, 2019
pp. 196-209
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-10-2018-0080
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