Thursday, April 01, 2010
Book launch ‘Philosophy and engineering. An emerging agenda’
Location: Royal Institute of Engineers, KIVI NIRIA, Prinsessegracht 23, Den Haag
Date & time: 1 April 2010, 14.30-18.00
Language: English
What has philosophy to do with engineering? Engineering is about numbers, hard science and tangible constructions with no room for vague philosophical discussions, or isn’t it? Engineering is also about creativity, innovation, values and improving the world. On the occasion of the appearance of the book Philosophy and engineering, an emerging agenda, two renowned engineers will be speaking about why they think that philosophy matters for engineers. David E. Goldberg is Jerry S. Dobrovolny Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and a world leader in genetic algorithms. He is also co-founder and co-director of the Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (iFoundry). Recently his attention has turned to the intersection of philosophy and engineering and he is co-editor of the book that will be launched. Sybrand van der Zwaag is professor of novel aerospace materials at TU Delft. He is involved in teaching engineering ethics and contributed to the book. Patricia Osseweijer (professor science communication TU Delft and KIVI NIRIA) and Jeroen van den Hoven (professor moral philosophy TU Delft and scientific director 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology) will comment on their presentations. President Jan Dekker of KIVI NIRIA will receive a copy of the book.
Program
14.30 - 15.00 Coffee/tea
15.00 – 15.10 Welcome by Jan Dekker (President KIVI NIRIA)
15.10 – 15.35 David E. Goldberg (Jerry S. Dobrovolny Distinguished Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
15.35-15.50 Reply by Jeroen van den Hoven (professor moral philosophy TU Delft and scientific director 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology)
15.50-16.00 Discussion
16.00-16.10 Break
16.10-16.30 Sybrand van der Zwaag (professor novel aerospace Materials TU Delft): title tba
16.30-16.45 Reply by Patricia Osseweijer (professor science communication TU Delft and KIVI-NIRIA)
16.45 – 17.00 Discussion
17.00-17.15 Handing over of an exemplar of the book Philosophy and Engineering to President Jan Dekker of KIVI NIRIA by Ibo van de Poel (associate professor ethics and technology TU Delft and Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies)
17.15 Drinks
About the book:
Ibo van de Poel, and David E. Goldberg (eds.) 2010. Philosophy and engineering. An emerging agenda. Dordrecht: Springer.
Whereas science, technology, and medicine have all called forth dedicated philosophical investigations, a fourth major contributor to the technoscientific world in which we all live - that is, engineering - has been accorded almost none of the philosophical attention it deserves. This volume thus offers a first characterization of this important new field, by some of the primary philosophers and ethicists interested in engineering and leading engineers interested in philosophical reflections. The volume deals with such questions as: What is engineering? In what respect does engineering differ from science? What ethical problems does engineering raise? By what ethical principles are engineers guided? How do engineers themselves conceive of their profession? What do they see as the main philosophical challenges confronting them in the 21st century? The authors respond to these and other questions from philosophical and engineering view points and so illustrate how together they can meet the challenges and realize the opportunities present in the necessary encounters between philosophy and engineering - encounters that are ever more important in an increasingly engineered world and its problematic futures.
This is the first volume in the new Springer book series Philosophy of Engineering and Technology. For more information, see http://www.springer.com/series/8657
Location
For Information
Henneke Filiz
TU Delft
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management
Section Philosophy
Tel.: +31 15 278 3887 +31 15 278 3887
