Harmonious Technology A Confucian Ethics of Technology

Introduction: Why Confucian Ethics of Technology?

1. Confucian Ritual Technicity and Philosophy of Technology

2. Dao, Harmony and Personhood: Toward a Confucian Ethics of Technology

3. Technological Mediation in and for Confucianism-Based Cultures

4. Self-Cultivation of the Confucian Engineer: What Engineering Ethics Education Can Learn from Confucian Moral Theory

5. Artificial Intelligence, Personal Decisions, Consent, and the Confucian Idea of Oneness

6. Confucian Personhood and the Scientific Spirit: Ren as the Foundation of Confucian Ethics of Technology

Epilogue: The Future of Confucian Ethics of Technology

Biography

Pak-Hang Wong is Research Associate at the Research Group for Ethics in IT in the Department of Informatics, Universität Hamburg, Germany.

Tom Xiaowei Wang is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Science and Technology in the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China.

"Harmonious Technology is a must-read for anyone interested in the philosophy and ethics of technology. While the effects of technology are global, the frameworks to understand and evaluate them are still local, dominated as they are by western approaches. In six fascinating chapters and the epilogue, the authors convincingly and profoundly demonstrate how a ‘multicultural turn’ can substantially enrich the ethics of technology. Without any doubt, this book is a solid foundation for much exciting work to come."

- Peter-Paul Verbeek, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Technology and Co-Director of the DesignLab, University of Twente, and author of What Things Do (2005) and Moralizing Technology (2011)

"Refreshing, stimulative, and timely, Harmonious Technology makes an important contribution to developing a Confucian philosophy of technology. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in this propitious field of study."

- Chenyang Li, Professor of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, and author of The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony (2013)

"Although there have been an increasing number of English language studies devoted to reassessing Confucianism in general terms and presenting it as a challenge to Western ethics, this is the first to tackle a range of issues in the ethics of technology from a Confucian perspective broadly construed. It represents the important work of a new generation of internationally engaged Chinese philosophers of technology."- Carl Mitcham, Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Colorado School of Mines; International Professor of Philosophy of Technology, Renmin University of China; author of Thinking through Technology (1994) and Steps Toward a Philosophy of Engineering (2020)

"[...]For those long engaged in such multicultural approaches to philosophy of ethics and technology, this volume represents a most welcome and significant contribution, one signaling a new level of engagement across these diverse traditions: it is simply delicious reading to be savored and learned deeply from. For those somewhat newer to these territories, the volume will be especially valuable as a primer in Confucian thought [...]. I simply cannot recommend it strongly enough."

- Charles M. Ess, Professor Emeritus, Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo; author of Digital Media Ethics, 3rd Edition (2020)