Abstract
The application of technology has an increasing influence on the evolution of society, and as engineers are the principal players in the development and application of technology, it follows that engineers have a responsibility to provide unique and important input into the societal discussion about the direction in which society evolves. To understand this responsibility, it is necessary to place it in the context of a particular view of how society evolves, and also to understand the environment in which engineers work and the role of industry in influencing the means available to engineers for communicating with society. It is argued that the responsibility is essentially to provide society with the technical information required to make informed decisions about the application of technology.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aslaksen, E. W. (2012). An engineer’s approach to the philosophy of engineering. Abstracts of fPET-2012, the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology conference, hosted by the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, November 2–4, 2012.
Aslaksen, E. W. (2013a). The engineering paradigm. Int’l J. of Engineering Studies, 5(2), 129–154.
Aslaksen, E. W. (2013b). The system concept and its application to engineering. Springer, 2012, sec. B2.1, which refers to works by S.C. Floorman and by P. Galloway.
Bijker, W. E. (1995). Of bicycles, bakelite, and bulbs. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Callon, M. (1987). Society in the making: The study of technology as a tool for sociological analysis. In W. E. Bijker, T. P. Hughes, & T. Pinch (Eds.), The social construction of technological systems. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Davis, M. (1998). Thinking like an engineer: Studies in the ethics of a profession. New York: Oxford University Press.
Deleuze, G. (1999). Nietzsche. “Philosopes” no.17 Presses Universitaire de France, p. 15.
Dessauer, F. (1956). Streit um die Technik. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Josef Knecht.
Ellul, J. (1980). The technological system. New York: The Continuum Publishing Corp.
Ferry, L. 2005. What is the Good Life? (L. G. Cochrane, Trans.). The University of Chicago Press.
Heidegger, M. (1997). The question concerning technology. Available online at http://simondon.ocular-witness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/question_concerning_technology.pdf
Hughes, T. P. (1994). Technological momentum. In M. R. Smith & L. Marx (Eds.), Does technology drive history? Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Koen, B. V. (2008). Toward a philosophy of engineering: An engineer’s perspective. Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering, London (2008), and Debunking Contemporary Myths Concerning Engineering, fPET-2010, abstract available at http://philengtech.org.
Li, B.-c. (2010). The rise of philosophy of engineering in the east and the west. In I. van de Poel & D. E. Goldberg (Eds.), Philosophy and engineering. Dordrecht: Springer.
MacKenzie, D., & Wajcman, J. (Eds.). (1999). The social shaping of technology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Marx, L. (1994). The idea of “technology” and postmodern pessimism. In M. R. Smith & L. Marx (Eds.), Does technology drive history? Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Medawar, P. (1959). The Future of Man, Reith Lectures 1959, in particular Lecture 6. Available online from BBC.
Mitcham, C. (1994). Thinking through technology. The path between engineering and philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mitcham, C. (2009). A philosophical inadequacy of engineering. The Monist, 92(3), 339–356.
Mitcham, C. (2012). Engineering policy: Its scope and limits. Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology 2012 (fPET-2012), University of the Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 2–4 November.
Pielke, R., Jr. (2007). The honest broker: Making sense of science in policy and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van de Poel, I., & Goldberg, D. E. (Eds.). (2010). Philosophy and engineering. Dordrecht: Springer.
Wang, D. (2012). An experimental philosophy of engineering. In Abstracts of fPET-2012, the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology conference, hosted by the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, November 2–4.
Acknowledgement
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the valuable review comments provided by one of the co-editors, Byron Newberry.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aslaksen, E.W. (2017). Engineers and the Evolution of Society. In: Michelfelder, D., Newberry, B., Zhu, Q. (eds) Philosophy and Engineering. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 26. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45193-0_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45193-0_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-45191-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-45193-0
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)