Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences

The Handbook Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences addresses numerous issues in the emerging field of the philosophy of those sciences that are involved in the technological process of designing, developing and making of new technical artifacts and systems. These issues include the nature of design, of technological knowledge, and of technical artifacts, as well as the toolbox of engineers. Most of these have thus far not been analyzed in general philosophy of science, which has traditionally but inadequately regarded technology as mere applied science and focused on physics, biology, mathematics and the social sciences.

. First comprehensive philosophical handbook on technology and the engineering sciences
. Unparalleled in scope including explorative articles
. In depth discussion of technical artifacts and their ontology
. Provides extensive analysis of the nature of engineering design
. Focuses in detail on the role of models in technology

General Introduction (Anthonie Meijers, editor)

Part I: Technology, Engineering and the Sciences

Introduction to Part I (Hans Radder, associate editor)

Defining Technology and the Engineering Sciences (Carl Mitcham and Eric Schatzberg)

Science, Technology and the Science-Technology Relationship (Hans Radder)

The Role of Social Science in Engineering (Knut Holtan Sørensen)

The Emergence of the Engineering Sciences: An Historical Analysis (David F. Channell)

Coherence and Diversity in the Engineering Sciences (Gerhard Banse and Armin Grunwald)

Part II: Ontology and Epistemology of Artifacts

Introduction to Part II (Wybo Houkes, associate editor)

Artifacts in Metaphysics (Amie L. Thomasson)

Philosophical Theories of Artifact Function (Beth Preston)

Functional Decomposition and Mereology in Engineering (Pieter Vermaas and Pawel Garbacz)

Artifacts in Formal Ontology (Stefano Borgo and Laure Vieu)

The Nature of Technological Knowledge (Wybo Houkes)

Tacit Knowledge and Engineering Design (Paul Nightingale)

Practical Reasoning and Engineering (Jesse Hughes)

Part III: Philosophy of Engineering Design

Introduction to Part III (Peter Kroes, associate editor)

Thinking about Design: An Historical Perspective (Richard Buchanan)

Typologies of Design Practice (Kees Dorst and Kees van Overveld)

Translating Customer Requirements into Technical Specifications (Marc de Vries)

Foundational Issues of Engineering Design (Peter Kroes)

Computational Representations of Function in Engineering Design (William H. Wood)

Rationality in Design (Peter Kroes, Maarten Franssen and Louis Bucciarelli)

Designing Socio-Technical Systems (Johannes M. Bauer and Paulien M. Herder)

Part IV: Modeling in Engineering Sciences

Introduction to Part IV (Sjoerd Zwart, associate editor)

The Notion of a Model: A Historical Overview (Roland Müller)

Functional Modeling and Mathematical Models: A Semantic Analysis (Wilfrid Hodges)

Models as Epistemic Tools in Engineering Sciences (Mieke Boon and Tarja Knuuttila)

Model-Based Reasoning in Interdisciplinary Engineering (Nancy J. Nersessian and Christopher Patton)

Scale Modelling in Engineering: Froude's Case (Sjoerd Zwart)

Similarity and Dimensional Analysis (Susan G. Sterett)

Measurement Theory and Engineering (Patrick Suppes)

Technological Explanation (Joseph C. Pitt)

Part V: Norms and Values in Technology and Engineering

Introduction to Part V (Ibo van de Poel, associate editor)

Why Technologies Are Inherently Normative (Hans Radder)

Artifacts and Normativity (Maarten Franssen)

Professional Standards in Engineering Practice (Michael Pritchard)

Values in Engineering Design (Ibo van de Poel)

The Concept of Efficiency: An Historical Analysis (Jennifer K. Alexander)

Aesthetic Values in Technology and Engineering Design (Joachim Schummer, Bruce MacLennan, and Nigel Taylor)

Risk and Safety in Technology (Sven Ove Hansson)

Technology Assessment: Concepts and Methods (Armin Grunwald)

The Interaction of Ethics and Technology in Historical Perspective (Carl Mitcham and Adam Briggle)

Part VI. Philosophical Issues in Engineering Disciplines

Introduction to Part VI (Sven Ove Hansson, associate editor)

Philosophy of Architecture (Christian Illies and Nicholas Ray)

Philosophy of Agricultural Technology (Paul Thompson)

Philosophy of Medical Technology (Sven Ove Hansson)

Philosophy of Biotechnology (Henk van den Belt)

Philosophy of Computing and Information Technology (Philip Brey and Johnny Hartz Søraker)

Index (Compiled by Marcel Scheele and Andreas Spahn)

For a complete Table of Contents visit www.elsevierdirect.com/9780444516671