Synopses & Reviews
Whereas science, technology, and medicine have all called forth dedicated philosophical investigations, a fourth major contributor to the technoscientific world in which we all live - that is, engineering - has been accorded almost none of the philosophical attention it deserves. This volume thus offers a first characterisation of this important new field, by some of the primary philosophers and ethicists interested in engineering and leading engineers interested in philosophical reflections. The volume deals with such questions as: What is engineering? In what respect does engineering differ from science? What ethical problems does engineering raise? By what ethical principles are engineers guided? How do engineers themselves conceive of their profession? What do they see as the main philosophical challenges confronting them in the 21st century? The authors respond to these and other questions from philosophical and engineering view points and so illustrate how together they can meet the challenges and realize the opportunities present in the necessary encounters between philosophy and engineering - encounters that are ever more important in an increasingly engineered world and its problematic futures.
Review
From the reviews: "It is the tangible outcome of the 'Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering' (WPE), which took place in October 2007 in Delft (The Netherlands). ... If one wants to get an impression of the variety of topics that one might study in this new and emerging area, it is a great place to start. ... a book ... to browse through and to keep as a work of reference." (Ilse Oosterlaken, Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 16, 2010)
Review
From the reviews:"It is the tangible outcome of the 'Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering' (WPE), which took place in October 2007 in Delft (The Netherlands). ... If one wants to get an impression of the variety of topics that one might study in this new and emerging area, it is a great place to start. ... a book ... to browse through and to keep as a work of reference." (Ilse Oosterlaken, Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 16, 2010)
Synopsis
This volume brings together some of the primary philosophers and ethicists interested in engineering and leading engineers interested in philosophical reflections. It is the first comprehensive volume on philosophy and engineering, an emerging new field.
Synopsis
Whereas science, technology, and medicine have all called forth dedicated philosophical investigations, a fourth major contributor to the technoscientific world in which we all live - that is, engineering - has been accorded almost none of the philosophical attention it deserves. This volume thus offers a first characterisation of this important new field, by some of the primary philosophers and ethicists interested in engineering and leading engineers interested in philosophical reflections. The volume deals with such questions as: What is engineering? In what respect does engineering differ from science? What ethical problems does engineering raise? By what ethical principles are engineers guided? How do engineers themselves conceive of their profession? What do they see as the main philosophical challenges confronting them in the 21st century? The authors respond to these and other questions from philosophical and engineering view points and so illustrate how together they can meet the challenges and realize the opportunities present in the necessary encounters between philosophy and engineering - encounters that are ever more important in an increasingly engineered world and its problematic futures.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Philosophy
Editors: Carl Mitcham and Michael Davis
2. Distinguishing architects from engineers. A pilot study in differences between engineers and other technologists, Michael Davis
3. The rise of philosophy of engineering in the East and the West, Li Bo-con
4. Multiple facets of philosophy and engineering, Paul T. Durbin
5. Comparing approaches to the philosophy of engineering. Including the linguistic philosophical approach, Carl Mitcham and Robert Mackay
6. Focusing philosophy of engineering. Analyses of technical functions and beyond, Pieter E. Vermaas
7. Philosophy, engineering and the sciences, Jospeh C. Pitt
8. Engineering science as a 'discipline of the particular'? Types of generalization in engineering sciences, Marc J. de Vries
9. How the models of engineering tell the truth, Zachary Pirtle
10. Limits to systems engineering, Maarten Ottens
Part 2: Ethics
Editors: P. Aarne Vesilind and Ibo van de Poel
11. Integrity and the ethical responsibilities of engineers, Alastair S. Gunn
12. Prioritizing people. Outline of an aspirational engineering ethic, W. Richard Bowen
13. Ethical principles for engineers in a global environment, Heinz C. Luegenbiehl
14. Professional ethics without a profession. A French view of engineering ethics Christelle Didier
15. Imagining worlds. Responsible engineering under conditions of epistemic opacity, Mark Coeckelbergh
16. Transferring responsibility through use plans, Auke Pols
17. Design problems and ethics, Wade Robison
18. Ethics in innovation. Cooperation and tension, Merle de Kreuk, Ibo van de Poel, Sjoerd Zwart and Mark van Loosdrecht
19. Teaching ethics to engineering students: from clean concepts to dirty tricks. The impact of practical circumstances and personal relationships on ethical decision-making, Otto Kroesen and Sybrand van der Zwaag
20. A collaborative platform for experiments in ethics and technology, Peter Danielson
Part 3: Reflection
Editors: Billy Vaughn Koen and David E. Goldberg
21. Why Philosophy? Why Now? Engineering responds to the crisis of the creative era, David E. Goldberg
22. A world of things not facts , Natasha McCarthy
23. Architecting Engineering Systems, Joel Moses
24. Bits don't have error bars. Upward conceptualization and downward approximation, Russ Abbott
25. Metaphysics of Engineering, Taft H. Broome, Jr.
26. Engineering determinacy. The exclusiveness of technology and the presence of the indeterminate, Albrecht Fritzsche
27. The focal engineering experience, Gene Moriarty
28. Quo Vadis, Humans? Engineering the Survival of the Human Species, Billy Vaughn Koen