Abstract

Recent controversies concerning the interaction of science and society have altered the science-society relationship. Technological possibility has required the scientific institution to turn to society for answers. This study explored the elements of each necessary to the decision making process. Challenges to the exclusionary existence of science provided several areas for rhetorical inquiry. ;This research addressed three issues under the rubric of rhetoric, particularly within the areas of public moral argument and decision making. First, public moral argument was examined as a rhetorical construct. The bi-directional nature of interaction between rhetoric and ethics was postulated and its importance addressed. Could the need for public moral argument be met with the development and implementation of a narrative model for ethical decision making? Second, this study developed a framework for narrative ethical decision making. This framework was posited as both a guide for practical decision makers and the critics of those decisions. Third, a case study allowed for the analysis of the rhetorical concept of the public in terms of public moral argument. The importance of public moral argument to a resurgence of the public sphere and the formation of publics was central to this examination.