1st Edition

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering

Edited By Diane P. Michelfelder, Neelke Doorn Copyright 2021
    792 Pages 47 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    792 Pages 47 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Engineering has always been a part of human life but has only recently become the subject matter of systematic philosophical inquiry. The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering presents the state-of-the-art of this field and lays a foundation for shaping future conversations within it. With a broad scholarly scope and 55 chapters contributed by both established experts and fresh voices in the field, the Handbook provides valuable insights into this dynamic and fast-growing field. The volume focuses on central issues and debates, established themes, and new developments in: 

      • Foundational perspectives 
      • Engineering reasoning 
      • Ontology 
      • Engineering design processes 
      • Engineering activities and methods 
      • Values in engineering 
      • Responsibilities in engineering practice 
      • Reimagining engineering 

    The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering will be of value for both students and active researchers in philosophy of engineering and in cognate fields (philosophy of technology, philosophy of design). It is also intended for engineers working both inside and outside of academia who would like to gain a more fundamental understanding of their particular professional field. 

    The increasing development of new technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, and new interdisciplinary fields, such as human-computer interaction, calls not only for philosophical inquiry but also for engineers and philosophers to work in collaboration with one another. At the same time, the demands on engineers to respond to the challenges of world health, climate change, poverty, and other so-called "wicked problems" have also been on the rise. These factors, together with the fact that a host of questions concerning the processes by which technologies are developed have arisen, make the current Handbook a timely and valuable publication.

    Introduction
    Diane P. Michelfelder and Neelke Doorn

    Part I: Foundational Perspectives

    1. What Is Engineering?
      Carl Mitcham
    2. A Brief History of Engineering
      Jennifer Karns Alexander
    3. Western Philosophical Approaches and Engineering
      Glen Miller
    4. Eastern Philosophical Approaches and Engineering
      Glen Miller, Xiaowei (Tom) Wang, Satya Sundar Sethy, Fujiki Atsushi
    5. What Is Engineering Science?
      Sven Ove Hansson
    6. Scientific Methodology in the Engineering Sciences
      Mieke Boon
    7. Part II: Engineering Reasoning

    8. Engineering Design and the Quest for Optimality
      Maarten Franssen
    9. Prescriptive Engineering Knowledge
      Sjoerd Zwart
    10. Engineering as Art and the Art of Engineering
      Lara Schrijver
    11. Creativity and Discovery in Engineering
      David H. Cropley
    12. Uncertainty
      William M. Bulleit
    13. Scenarios
      Christian Dieckhoff and Armin Grunwald
    14. Systems Engineering as Engineering Philosophy
      Usman Akeel and Sarah Bell
    15. Assessing Provenance and Bias in Big Data
      Brent Mittelstadt and Jan Kwakkel
    16. Part III: Ontology

    17. Artifacts
      Beth Preston
    18. Engineering Objects
      Wybo Houkes
    19. Use Plans
      Auke Pols
    20. Function in Engineering
      Boris Eisenbart and Kilian Gericke
    21. Emergence in Engineering
      Peter Simons
    22. Towards an Ontology of Innovation: On the New, the Political-Economic Dimension and the Intrinsic Risks Involved in Innovation Processes
      Vincent Blok
    23. Part IV: Engineering Design Processes

    24. Engineering Design
      Peter Kroes
    25. Values and Design
      Ibo Van de Poel
    26. Design Methods and Validation
      Sabine Ammon
    27. Human-Centred Design and its Inherent Ethical Qualities
      Marc Steen
    28. Sustainable Design
      Steven A. Moore
    29. Maintenance
      Mark Thomas Young
    30. Part V: Engineering Activities and Methods

    31. Measurement
      Lara Huber
    32. Models in Engineering and Design: Modeling Relations and Directions of Fit
      Michael Poznic
    33. Scale Modeling
      Susan G. Sterrett
    34. Computer Simulations
      Hildrun Lampe
    35. Experimentation
      Viola Schiaffonati
    36. On Verification and Validation in Engineering
      Francien Dechesne and Tijn Borghuis
    37. Part VI: Values in Engineering

    38. Values in Risk and Safety Assessment
      Niklas Möller
    39. Engineering and Sustainability: Control and Care in Unfoldings of Modernity
      Andy Stirling
    40. The Role of Resilience in Engineering
      Neelke Doorn
    41. Trust in Engineering
      Philip J. Nickel
    42. Aesthetics
      Stefan Koller
    43. Health
      Marianne Boenink
    44. Philosophy of Security Engineering
      Wolter Pieters
    45. Part VII: Responsibilities in Engineering Practice

    46. Ethical Considerations in Engineering
      Wade L. Robison
    47. Autonomy in Engineering
      Eugene Schlossberger
    48. Standards in Engineering
      Paul B. Thompson
    49. Professional Codes of Ethics
      Michael Davis
    50. Responsibilities to the Public—Professional Engineering Societies
      Joseph Herkert and Jason Borenstein
    51. Engineering as a Political Practice
      Govert Valkenburg
    52. Global Engineering Ethics
      Pak-Hang Wong
    53. Engineering Practice and Engineering Policy: The Narrative Form of Engineering Policy Advice
      Natasha McCarthy
    54. Part VIII: Reimagining Engineering

    55. Feminist Engineering and Gender
      Donna Riley
    56. Socially Responsible Engineering
      Jessica M. Smith and Juan C. Lucena
    57. Engineering and Social Justice
      Carolyn Baillie
    58. Engineering and Environmental Justice
      Benjamin R. Cohen
    59. Beyond Traditional Engineering: Green, Humanitarian, Social Justice, and Omnium Approaches
      George D. Catalano
    60. Engineering and Contemporary Continental Philosophy of Technology
      Diane P. Michelfelder
    61. Engineering Practice from the Perspective of Methodical Constructivism and Culturalism
      Michael Funk and Albrecht Fritzsche
    62. Reimagining the Future of Engineering
      Neelke Doorn, Diane P. Michelfelder, Elise Barrella, Terry Bristol, Francien Dechesne, Albrecht Fritzsche, Gearold Johnson, Michael Poznic, Wade L. Robison, Barbara Sain, Taylor Stone, Tonatiuh Rodriguez-Nikl, Steven Umbrello, Pieter E. Vermaas, Richard L. Wilson

    Biography

    Diane P. Michelfelder is Professor of Philosophy at Macalester College, USA. Along with philosopher Natasha McCarthy and engineer David E. Goldberg, she edited Philosophy and Engineering: Reflections on Practice, Principles, and Process (2013). Her most recent book is Philosophy and Engineering: Exploring Boundaries, Expanding Connections, edited with Byron Newberry and Qin Zhu (2016). 

    Neelke Doorn is Distinguished Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor of "Ethics of Water Engineering" at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Recent book publications include co-editing the volumes Responsible Innovation: Innovative Solutions for Global Issues (2014) and Early Engagement and New Technologies: Opening up the Laboratory (2013). She is also the author of Water Ethics: An Introduction (2020).  

    "This is an amazing collection! Not only is it the first book of its kind, defining the territory of the new and rapidly developing field of philosophy of engineering, it contains chapters by a truly international and multidisciplinary group of scholars. The compilation is rich and exciting, and very timely."
    Deborah G. Johnson, Anne Shirley Carter Olsson Professor of Applied Ethics Emeritus, University of Virginia

    "Neelke Doorn and Diane Michelfelder have curated an impressive body of works that turn the clarifying and critical lens of philosophy upon engineering. This volume begins to reveal the depths of an essential human enterprise, one that philosophers for too long treated as a superficial craft rather than what it is: a creative endeavor of social imagination in action."
    Shannon Vallor, Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh

    "Traditional philosophy of technology largely ignores engineers and engineering, but The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering takes engineers, their methods, their responsibilities, and their future seriously with a world-class collection of spot-on papers sure to stimulate your reflection. Beg, borrow, or steal this volume and start treating the humans and human activity of engineering in a philosophically serious way, today."
    David E. Goldberg, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois