Abstract

The present stage of scientific and technological development has clearly shown the limits beyond which science and technology confront or will confront with non-solvable or, to put it better, developed by them scientific and technological problems. The development of the notion of scientific and technological progress deals with the illusion that science is able, sooner or later, with a certain accuracy, to forecast, foretell, foresee or, at least, minimise all negative effects of these scientific projects. This “total” projecting of everything everywhere has led to “boundless” and “universal” design theory which could let us apply all accumulated human knowledge to make up new artificial products and systems (artifacts) which is not only machines or the Man-Machine systems, but also the materials, chemical compounds and even molecules etc. It was found out today that human scientific knowledge is not able to foresee everything: it is possible only to forecast a certain risk of new scientific technologies. Then the socio-technological systems cannot be designed if we use only technical requirements and methods. In biotechnology and gene engineering there appeared an acute necessity to develop scientific and engineering ethics that would come into the framework of scientific and engineering research. The traditional conception of ethical neutrality of the scientific and engineering research and a boundless character of scientific and technological progress does not meet modern requirements and that it is necessary to change the strategy of scientific and technological development.