目標對象、關係人與集體責任：科學傳播課程中的科技倫理

A Case Study of Inspiring Ethical Discussions about Science and Technology in Undergraduate Science Communication Courses

本文是對教學案例的探索式蒐集和初步分析，探討在科學傳播大學部課程中啟發倫理思考的可能性。這一探索的背景假設是：經由整合從不同學科援引的3個概念，課程設計或許有可能激發學生對科學、技術和工程倫理的思考。3個概念分別是媒體傳播的「目標閱聽人」（或稱目標受眾）、管理科學和政策研究的「利害關係人」，以及道德和倫理哲學討論中的「前瞻型集體責任」。由於本文視科學傳播為科學溝通，強調雙向聆聽學習的性質，且不拘使用何種媒介形式，因此把目標閱聽人稱為「目標對象」。
學生作品的案例來自3個班級，其中2班是科學傳播的通識課，1班是科學與公眾關係史的系所課。前者為實作導向，以新聞傳播概念為基礎，但採用了STS啟發的跨領域取徑；後者側重歷史，然亦以介紹傳播方式之演變為綱。在期末報告並未指定需包含倫理議題的情形下，本文彙整學生期末報告的選題，發現報告表現的興趣與本文背景假設一致，亦即含有外顯且自發的倫理討論，包括從既有文獻引用以及自行嘗試。接著本文觀察倫理討論的篇幅，以及實作導向課中學生對目標對象的界定，多數報告直指倫理議題及其關係人，少數實作作品立基於「科學家應承擔社會責任」的觀點，而不包含外顯的倫理議題，但仍可視為在廣義上對責任概念有所應用。
根據上述結果，本文認為科學傳播訓練可以協助科技倫理教育。有趣的是，學生對責任概念的應用，似乎有科學與技術的二分情況：含有外顯倫理討論的作品都是聚焦於技術；而沒有明確包含倫理議題的作品，都旨在普及基礎科學的專家知識。未來研究或可進行大規模的調查，以檢驗這種二分現象是否存在，倘若普遍存在，又是否有著社會或文化上的解釋。
本文初步建議，科學傳播、科技倫理、科學史和科學哲學課程之間不妨相互合作，讓學生對科學、技術科學及它們的社會脈絡的關係，能有更全面的認識。

This essay presents a case study exploring how undergraduate science communication courses might inspire ethical thinking about science and technology. The case study is exploratory because it did not aim to test single hypotheses and was open to a range of possible outcomes of the educational design. This case study assumes integrating three concepts—media target audience, stakeholder analysis from management and policy studies, and forward-looking collective responsibility from moral philosophy—into the course design could stimulate students’ethical engagement with science, technology and engineering. Student project cases were collected from three classes: two general education science communication courses and one departmental course on the history of science-public relationships. Topics were chosen independently by students and analyzed for ethical themes, depth of ethical discussion, and, in the context of general education course, the target audience identification. While each course varied in focus—one on hands-on practice and the other on a conceptual overview of the history—most projects included explicit ethical discussions. A few projects emphasized social responsibility in science without addressing specific ethical issues, reflecting a concept of responsibility in a broad sense. Interestingly, a science-technology dichotomy emerged in the way that the students applied the concept of responsibility. Projects with explicit ethical discussions tended to focus on technology, while those without discussion of ethics focused on popularizing basic scientific knowledge. Larger studies are needed to determine if this dichotomy can be generalized and to explore possible social or cultural explanations. Consistent with our baseline assumptions, this essay suggests collaboration among courses in science communication, ethics, and the history and philosophy of science can deepen students’understanding of science and technology in their broader social contexts.