Andreas Spahn
Department / Institute
Group
RESEARCH PROFILE
Andreas Spahn is an associate professor with the Philosophy& Ethics research group at the department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. His research focusses on ethics of technology, particularly ethics of energy technologies. He has worked and published on ethics of behavior change technologies and persuasive technologies, ethics of energy systems, and environmental ethics.
The transition towards sustainability requires both technological innovations and a change of user behavior. How can we design technologies in a way that they meet our social values, such as sustainability and well-being? How can we persuade users to change their behavior? What are the ethical limits to technological persuasion?
Ethics of technology is not only about avoiding “bad” outcomes. We should also focus on the positive: how to innovate technologies that contribute to the good life and enhance social values?
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Andreas Spahn studied at the University of Essen (Germany) and at the University of Notre-Dame (Indiana, USA). In 2007, after obtaining his doctorate at the Ruhr-Universität-Bochum (Germany), Dr. Spahn moved to Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, the Netherlands), where he was appointed as assistant professor with the Philosophy& Ethics research group at the department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. He is the author of many articles and book chapters on ethics of technology, ethics of behavior change and environmental ethics.
He has contributed to numerous research projects on persuasive technologies (NWO 2009-2013; NWO 2013-2014), energy technologies (NWO 2011-2015; 2014-current), and questions of co-creation in energy technologies (EU Horizon 2020, 2018-current). The Horizon 2020 project SCALINGS investigates the role that moral values play in co-creation processes of urban energy technologies. Dr. Spahn was member of the management team of 4TU.Ethics (2014-2017) is currently chairing the taskforce sustainability of 4TU.Ethics.
Key Publications
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A. Spahn
"The first generation to end poverty and the last to save the planet?"-Western individualism, human rights and the value of nature in the ethics of global sustainable development
Sustainability (2018) -
A.J.K. Pols,A. Spahn
Design for the values of democracy and justice
(2015) -
D. Beyleveld,M. Düwell,A. Spahn
Why and how should we represent future generations in policymaking?
Jurisprudence (2015) -
A. Spahn
Can technology make us happy? : ethics, spectator's happiness and the value of achievement
(2015) -
A. Spahn
And lead us (not) into persuasion…? : persuasive technology and the ethics of communication
Science and Engineering Ethics (2012)
Ancillary Activities
No ancillary activities