Philosophy and Technology

This collection of essays examines the philosophical and cultural aspects of technology from a variety of perspectives.

Roger Fellows (Author)

9780521558167, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 14 December 1995

212 pages
23.3 x 16 x 2.3 cm, 0.343 kg

This collection of essays examines the philosophical and cultural aspects of technology. The issues range widely - from quantum technology to problems of technology and culture in a developing country and contributors approach the issues from a variety of perspectives. The volume includes case-studies, and also more theoretical pieces which consider the fundamental question of whether technology should be perceived as a force for liberation or enslavement. The volume aims to stimulate debate about the relation between technology and philosophy and society in general, and to open a field of enquiry that has been relatively neglected. Written in an accessible style, the contributions are intended equally for philosophers exploring the novel problems arising in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but also for technologists interested in the philosophical implications of their work.

1. Introduction Roger Fellows
2. Technology: liberation or enslavement? David E. Cooper
3. Do the successes of technology evidence the truth of theories? Michael Smithurst
4. Instruments and reality: the case of terrestrial magnetism and the Northern Lights Willem Hackman
5. Realism and progress: why scientists should be realists Robin Findlay Hendry
6. Quantum technology: where to look for the quantum measurements problem Nancy Cartwright
7. Welcome to Wales: Searle on the computational theory of mind Roger Fellows
8. Acts, omissions and keeping patients alive in a persistent vegetative state Sophie Botris
9. Technology and culture in a developing country Kwame Gyekye
10. Art and technology Anthony O'Hear
11. Tools, machines and marvels Stephen R. L. Clark
12. Values, means and ends Robert Grant
13. Question time Renford Bambrough.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA]