Philosophy and Engineering ― Exploring Boundaries, Expanding Connections

This book addresses issues in the philosophy of engineering, engineering ethics, and engineering education. It defends the idea that it makes sense to see technology as a science in its own right, rather than as an applied science. Looking at the impact of technological innovation on what counts as an “observation” and, consequently, on what counts as “knowledge”, this book also discusses ethical issues related to emerging technologies, including social robots, 3D printing, and 3D bioprinting. Divided into two main sections entitled Exploring Boundaries and Expanding Connections, the book brings together papers that challenge received assumptions and understandings within the context of engineering in the first section. The Expanding Connections section brings engineers and philosophers together as partners in dialogue, then builds on this dialogue, and expands connections through conversations among engineers as well as among engineers and non-engineers. This volume develops the philosophy of engineering and raises challenging questions. It contains papers selected from the 2014 meeting of the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology (fPET). Together, these papers help foster conversation among philosophers and engineers, investigate the philosophical underpinnings of engineering knowledge and practices, and encourage philosophical reflection among engineers.

Diane P. Michelfelder is Professor of Philosophy at Macalester College, USA. Her primary areas of research inquiry are the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of engineering. She has been actively involved in the creation and development of fPET: the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology, and has served as the?president of the Society for Philosophy and Technology. Currently, she is co-editor-in-chief of that society’s journal,?Techne: Research in Philosophy and Technology.?Her work has been published in this journal?as well as in?Science and Engineering Ethics, AI & Society, Philosophy and Technology, Engineering Studies, and Ethics and Information Technology,?among others.?Along with philosopher Natasha McCarthy and engineer David E. Goldberg, she is editor of?Philosophy and Engineering: Reflections on Practice, Principles, and Process?(Springer 2013).

Byron Newberry has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama, along with an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics, both from Iowa State University. He is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Baylor University and has been designated a Baylor Fellow for teaching. His teaching areas include engineering design, engineering mechanics, engineering ethics, and sustainable engineering. His current research interests include engineering design, engineering ethics, and the philosophy of engineering and technology. He has worked as an aircraft structural engineering consultant, is an Executive Board member of the National Institute for Engineering Ethics, serves on the Steering Committee for the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology (fPET), and serves as an Editor of the SpringerPhilosophy of Engineering and Technology?book series.

Qin Zhu is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Ethics Across Campus Program and the Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies at Colorado School of Mines, where he is also helping with managing the Daniels Fund Faculty Fellows Program that provides scholarly and grant support for faculty to explore ways to integrate ethics into their applied science and engineering curricula. He has broad teaching and research interests in the ethical, historical-cultural, and policy perspectives of engineering practice and education. His research has drawn on theories, methods, and practices from a wide range of fields including philosophy of technology, engineering ethics, engineering education, and Confucian ethics. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as?Engineering Studies,?History of Education, and?Technology in Society.