Engineering and Philosophy: Reimagining Technology and Social Progress

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