1st Edition
The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering
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
- What Is Engineering?
Carl Mitcham - A Brief History of Engineering
Jennifer Karns Alexander - Western Philosophical Approaches and Engineering
Glen Miller - Eastern Philosophical Approaches and Engineering
Glen Miller, Xiaowei (Tom) Wang, Satya Sundar Sethy, Fujiki Atsushi - What Is Engineering Science?
Sven Ove Hansson - Scientific Methodology in the Engineering Sciences
Mieke Boon - Engineering Design and the Quest for Optimality
Maarten Franssen - Prescriptive Engineering Knowledge
Sjoerd Zwart - Engineering as Art and the Art of Engineering
Lara Schrijver - Creativity and Discovery in Engineering
David H. Cropley - Uncertainty
William M. Bulleit - Scenarios
Christian Dieckhoff and Armin Grunwald - Systems Engineering as Engineering Philosophy
Usman Akeel and Sarah Bell - Assessing Provenance and Bias in Big Data
Brent Mittelstadt and Jan Kwakkel - Artifacts
Beth Preston - Engineering Objects
Wybo Houkes - Use Plans
Auke Pols - Function in Engineering
Boris Eisenbart and Kilian Gericke - Emergence in Engineering
Peter Simons - Towards an Ontology of Innovation: On the New, the Political-Economic Dimension and the Intrinsic Risks Involved in Innovation Processes
Vincent Blok - Engineering Design
Peter Kroes - Values and Design
Ibo Van de Poel - Design Methods and Validation
Sabine Ammon - Human-Centred Design and its Inherent Ethical Qualities
Marc Steen - Sustainable Design
Steven A. Moore - Maintenance
Mark Thomas Young - Measurement
Lara Huber - Models in Engineering and Design: Modeling Relations and Directions of Fit
Michael Poznic - Scale Modeling
Susan G. Sterrett - Computer Simulations
Hildrun Lampe - Experimentation
Viola Schiaffonati - On Verification and Validation in Engineering
Francien Dechesne and Tijn Borghuis - Values in Risk and Safety Assessment
Niklas Möller - Engineering and Sustainability: Control and Care in Unfoldings of Modernity
Andy Stirling - The Role of Resilience in Engineering
Neelke Doorn - Trust in Engineering
Philip J. Nickel - Aesthetics
Stefan Koller - Health
Marianne Boenink - Philosophy of Security Engineering
Wolter Pieters - Ethical Considerations in Engineering
Wade L. Robison - Autonomy in Engineering
Eugene Schlossberger - Standards in Engineering
Paul B. Thompson - Professional Codes of Ethics
Michael Davis - Responsibilities to the Public—Professional Engineering Societies
Joseph Herkert and Jason Borenstein - Engineering as a Political Practice
Govert Valkenburg - Global Engineering Ethics
Pak-Hang Wong - Engineering Practice and Engineering Policy: The Narrative Form of Engineering Policy Advice
Natasha McCarthy - Feminist Engineering and Gender
Donna Riley - Socially Responsible Engineering
Jessica M. Smith and Juan C. Lucena - Engineering and Social Justice
Carolyn Baillie - Engineering and Environmental Justice
Benjamin R. Cohen - Beyond Traditional Engineering: Green, Humanitarian, Social Justice, and Omnium Approaches
George D. Catalano - Engineering and Contemporary Continental Philosophy of Technology
Diane P. Michelfelder - Engineering Practice from the Perspective of Methodical Constructivism and Culturalism
Michael Funk and Albrecht Fritzsche - 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
Part II: Engineering Reasoning
Part III: Ontology
Part IV: Engineering Design Processes
Part V: Engineering Activities and Methods
Part VI: Values in Engineering
Part VII: Responsibilities in Engineering Practice
Part VIII: Reimagining Engineering
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