Engineering and Philosophy: Reimagining Technology and Social Progress

Description

Contents About the Editors Chapter 1: Reimagining Conceptions of Technological and Societal Progress 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Why Philosophy and Engineering? 1.2.1 Structure of the Book 1.3 Section 1: Technological Progress 1.3.1 Part I: Reimagining How Engineering Relates to the Sciences 1.3.2 Part II: Re-imagining Engineering Epistemology and Reasoning 1.4 Section 2: Social Progress 1.4.1 Part III: Reimagining Values and Culture in Engineering and Engineered Systems 1.4.2 Part IV: Reimagining Social Progress Through Engineers’ Ethical Principles 1.5 Section 3: The Connection Between Engineering and Social Progress 1.5.1 Part V: Re-imagining How Engineering Relates to Complex Sociotechnical Systems 1.5.2 Part VI: Reimagining Social Progress in Democracy, and the Need to Align Engineering to Social Values 1.6 Part VII: A Provocation – Reimagining the Limits of Philosophy and Knowledge Through Generic Design 1.7 On Progress for the Philosophy of Engineering References Part I: Technological Progress: Reimagining How Engineering Relates to the Sciences Chapter 2: Engineering Design Principles in Natural and Artificial Systems: Generative Entrenchment and Modularity 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Generative Entrenchment 2.2.1 Generative Entrenchment and Engineered Technological Systems 2.2.2 Entrenchment Can Drive Asymmetry and, thus, Diversity 2.2.3 Entrenchment and Bauplans: General Frameworks for Adaptive Radiations 2.3 Top-Down Modularity: The Emergence of Order from the Big Ball of Mud 2.3.1 How Modularity in Engineering Can Become Entrenched 2.4 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Technological Progress in the Life Sciences 3.1 Introduction 3.2 A History of Genetic Intervention 3.3 What’s a Technological Revolution Anyway? 3.4 Is CRISPR-Cas9 Really Revolutionary? 3.5 Why Tracking Innovation Matters 3.6 Conclusion References Part II: Technological Progress: Re-imagining Engineering Knowledge Chapter 4: Philosophical Observations and Applications in Systems and Aerospace Engineering 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Protaganists of Protagoras: Engineering Rhetoric 4.3 Aristotle’s Children: Teleology in Engineering 4.4 Euclid vs. Ptolemy: From Axiomatic to Model-Based Systems Engineering 4.5 Hermeneutics, Pragmatism, and the Theory of Fault Management 4.6 Conclusion Chapter 5: Prehistoric Stone Tools and their Epistemic Complexity 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Section 1: Subjective vs Objective Perspectives of Knowledge 5.3 Section 2: How Does Knowledge Take on Material Forms? 5.4 Section 3: Early Stone Tools as Epistemically Complex Entities 5.5 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 6: Narrative and Epistemic Positioning: The Case of the Dandelion Pilot 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Plots and Askability 6.3 Interpretation and Synoptic Judgement 6.3.1 Flow Visualisation 6.3.2 Narrative Helping Others to See 6.4 Conclusion References Part III: Social Progress: Considering Engineers’ Ethical Principles Chapter 7: Constructing Situated and Social Knowledge: Ethical, Sociological, and Phenomenological Factors in Technological Design 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Algorithmic Bias 7.2.1 Photographic Bias 7.2.2 Surveillance 7.2.3 Google’s Search 7.3 Intersubjective Intersections 7.3.1 GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) 7.4 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Towards an Engineering Ethics with Non-engineers: How Western Engineering Ethics May Learn from Taiwan 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Meanings of “Engineering” 8.3 An Engineering Ethics for “Non-engineers” as Well 8.4 From Ethics of Professional Engineers to Ethics  of the Engineering Profession 8.5 Conclusion and Implications References Chapter 9: Broadening Engineering Identity: Moving beyond Problem Solving 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Solutions Versus Responses 9.3 Proposed Ontology 9.4 Response-Type Taxonomy 9.4.1 Negation or Elimination 9.4.2 Delay 9.4.3 Buffer 9.4.4 Avoidance 9.4.5 Denial 9.4.6 Reframe (the Challenge) 9.4.7 Discussion 9.5 Nature of the Sustainability Challenge 9.6 Ontology-Epistemology-Pedagogy 9.7 Curriculum Implications 9.8 Summary and Conclusions References Part IV: Reimagining Values and Culture in Engineering and Engineered Systems Chapter 10: Engineering, Judgement and Engineering Judgement: A Proposed Definition 10.1 Methodology of This Paper 10.2 Phronesis, a First Cut Definition 10.3 Why Phronesis? 10.4 What Is Phronesis? 10.5 Phronesis and Other Virtues 10.6 A “Rational Quality” 10.7 The Case for Adding Eustoxia to Our Definition of Engineering Judgement 10.8 A Problem of Scope: Phronesis Excludes the Act of Making Things 10.9 Aristotle’s Categorization of Virtues 10.10 Another Problem of Scope: Universal Applicability of Phronesis vs. Specific Applicability of Judgement 10.11 Phronesis: Summary 10.12 Definition of Engineering Judgement – Second Cut 10.13 Creativity in Engineering 10.14 Uncertainty and the Problem of Truth 10.15 Koen’s Postmodern View of Truth vs. that of the Typical Engineer 10.16 Truth vs. Optimization 10.17 Is Engineering Judgement a Rational Quality? 10.18 Summary of Lessons Learned from Consideration of Koen’s Method 10.19 Engineering Judgement – Third Cut 10.20 What Is Unique About Engineering Judgement? 10.21 How Is Engineering Different? 10.22 Engineering Judgement – Final Cut (for This Chapter) References Chapter 11: Technology, Uncertainty, and the Good Life: A Stoic Perspective 11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Technology and Uncertainty 11.1.2 Technology and Human Fulfillment 11.1.3 Sustainability and Resilience 11.2 Relevant Stoic Concepts and Arguments 11.2.1 Eudaimonia 11.2.2 Global Concern 11.2.3 Fate 11.2.4 Avoiding Judgment 11.2.5 Visualizing and Growing from Adversity 11.2.6 Phronesis 11.3 Application of the Concepts to the Proposed Challenges 11.4 Conclusion References Part V: Re-imagining How Engineering Relates to Complex Sociotechnical Systems Chapter 12: The Impact of Robot Companions on the Moral Development of Children 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Virtues 12.3 Types of Robot Companions 12.4 Potential Justifications for the Use of Robots with Children 12.5 Types of Interactions 12.6 Encouraging Prosocial Behavior 12.7 Discouraging Antisocial Behavior 12.8 Ethical Concerns with the Strategy 12.9 Other Related Ethical Objections 12.10 Conclusion References Chapter 13: Engineering Our Selves: Morphological Freedom and the Myth of Multiplicity 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Part 1: Transhumanism, and the Quest to (Re-)Engineer the Body 13.3 Part 2: Bills of Rights and Engineering 13.4 Part 3: Streamlining and Eugenics 13.5 Part 4: A Deeper Dive into Morphological Freedom 13.5.1 The First Clause 13.5.2 The Third Clause 13.5.3 The Fourth Clause 13.6 Conclusions References Part VI: Reimagining Social Progress in Democracy, and the Need to Align Engineering to Social Values Chapter 14: Shared Learning to Explore the Philosophies, Policies and Practices of Engineering: The Case of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Shared Learning 14.3 Research Design 14.3.1 Case Context: Atlantic Coast Pipeline 14.3.2 Research Team and Structure 14.3.3 Research Activities 14.4 Findings: Confronting Disengagement via Shared Learning 14.4.1 Dualism and Socio-technical Systems 14.4.2 Meritocracy and Pipeline Planning 14.4.3 Politicization 14.5 Concluding Points References Chapter 15: Middle Grounds: Art and Pluralism 15.1 Introduction 15.1.1 Background 15.1.2 Intersection of Art & Technology 15.1.3 Overview of Artist Duo Caitlin & Misha 15.1.4 Repurposing Technology via the Worries Bash and Other Projects 15.2 Creating Space 15.2.1 Space that Is Open to the Public 15.2.2 Creating Spaces for Shared Experiences 15.3 Shaping Culture 15.3.1 Possibility Space 15.3.2 Possibility Space of the Mobile Sauna and Sweat Battery 15.3.3 Possibility Space of the Shareable Biome 15.3.4 Possibility Space of Worries Bash 15.3.5 Possibility Space of the Pink Noise Salon 15.3.6 Possibility Space of Total Jump 15.4 Conclusion References Chapter 16: The Artefact on Stage – Object Theatre and Philosophy of Engineering and Technology 16.1 Landmarks of Engineering 16.2 Objects, Puppets and Theatre 16.3 Technology on Stage 16.3.1 Case 1: The Second Reality 16.3.2 Case 2: Eliza – Uncanny Love 16.4 Philosophical Experiences 16.5 The Mirror Image References Chapter 17: Imagined Systems: How the Speculative Novel Infomocracy Offers a Simulation of the Relationship Between Democracy, Technology, and Society 17.1 Introduction 17.2 How Science Fiction Can Inform Policy 17.3 On the Relationship among Technology, Society and Democracy 17.4 The World of Infomocracy 17.5 How Infomocracy Embodies Forecasting, Values Reflection and Governance 17.6 Infomocracy as a Governance Simulation for Re-engineering the Relationship Between Technology and Society References Part VII: A Provocation Chapter 18: The Discrete Scaffold for Generic Design, an Interdisciplinary Craft Work for the Future 18.1 Introduction 18.1.1 Views of the Generic 18.1.2 Scaffolding for Construction Crafts 18.1.3 Scaffolding for Generic Design 18.2 Building a Conceptual Framework for Generic Design 18.2.1 Generic Epistemology and Generic Space 18.2.2 Situating Generic Design in Craftwork 18.2.3 The Role of Shared Memory in Generic Design 18.3 Approach: Generic Design, a Theory/Practice Framework 18.4 Poincare’s Partially Explicit Generic Design 18.4.1 Poincare: Interdisciplinarian and Precursor to Generic Design 18.4.2 Poincare’s Synoptic Ordering of Science Conjoined with Philosophy in Popular Science Writing 18.4.3 Poincaré’s Ordering of Disciplines as Conceptual Scaffolding 18.5 Historical Epistemology of Einstein’s Breakthroughs in Physics: Viewed as Generic Design 18.6 Extending Poincare and Einstein 18.7 A Generic Design Perspective on Engineering 18.8 Dimensional Analysis: A Case of Multi-authored Generic Design 18.9 Conclusion References