TY - JOUR
T1 - The Value of Darkness
T2 - A Moral Framework for Urban Nighttime Lighting
AU - Stone, Taylor
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - The adverse effects of artificial nighttime lighting, known as light pollution, are emerging as an important environmental issue. To address these effects, current scientific research focuses mainly on identifying what is bad or undesirable about certain types and uses of lighting at night. This paper adopts a value-sensitive approach, focusing instead on what is good about darkness at night. In doing so, it offers a first comprehensive analysis of the environmental value of darkness at night from within applied ethics. A design for values orientation is utilized to conceptualize, define, and categorize the ways in which value is derived from darkness. Nine values are identified and categorized via their type of good, temporal outlook, and spatial characteristics. Furthermore, these nine values are translated into prima facie moral obligations that should be incorporated into future design choices, policy-making, and innovations to nighttime lighting. Thus, the value of darkness is analyzed with the practical goal of informing future decision-making about urban nighttime lighting.
AB - The adverse effects of artificial nighttime lighting, known as light pollution, are emerging as an important environmental issue. To address these effects, current scientific research focuses mainly on identifying what is bad or undesirable about certain types and uses of lighting at night. This paper adopts a value-sensitive approach, focusing instead on what is good about darkness at night. In doing so, it offers a first comprehensive analysis of the environmental value of darkness at night from within applied ethics. A design for values orientation is utilized to conceptualize, define, and categorize the ways in which value is derived from darkness. Nine values are identified and categorized via their type of good, temporal outlook, and spatial characteristics. Furthermore, these nine values are translated into prima facie moral obligations that should be incorporated into future design choices, policy-making, and innovations to nighttime lighting. Thus, the value of darkness is analyzed with the practical goal of informing future decision-making about urban nighttime lighting.
KW - Darkness
KW - Light pollution
KW - Artificial light at night
KW - Nighttime illumination
KW - Design for values
KW - Environmental ethics
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:14404e5c-31a1-4a32-ba3b-58adbf7a091f
U2 - 10.1007/s11948-017-9924-0
DO - 10.1007/s11948-017-9924-0
M3 - Article
SN - 1471-5546
JO - Science and Engineering Ethics
JF - Science and Engineering Ethics
ER -