Research involves

Understanding the social impact of new science and technology.

Research relevance

The research is leading to better informed policy-making and regulatory development, and improved public consultation with respect to science and technology innovation.

Resistance to Innovation: Deadbeat or Visionary?

Some of the greatest ethical challenges for society arise in connection with the introduction of scientific and technological innovations. In spite of the fact that new developments in science and technology can solve many problems in fields such as medicine, agriculture and the environment, there is often considerable public resistance to them.

The issues surrounding innovation and resistance to it are at the heart of research being carried out by Canada Research Chair David Castle at the University of Ottawa. Castle's research and teaching interests lie in the philosophy of the life sciences and the ethical implications posed by biotechnology.

Castle studies a broad array of cultural, social and ethical issues raised by science and technology and their ramifications for Canadian domestic and foreign policy. In his work, he looks into the social impact of new science and technology advances that are intended to improve quality of life in Canada and other industrialized countries and examines how this issue relates to the gap in health care and food security between industrialized and developing countries.

As the Canada Research Chair in Science and Society, Castle is producing analytical frameworks for use in the assessment of science and technology innovation, and recommendations for its governance. Issues under study include the evaluation of science quality and procedures for conducting technology assessments, the study of innovation in policy and regulation, and the role and importance of public consultation. His research is based on the understanding that a careful assessment and subtle judgment about the context and conditions of the application of new technology are preconditions for its deployment in an ethically defensible manner.