Thinking through Science and Technology

Reviews / Votes

Carl Mitcham is a founding figure of the philosophy of engineering and technology. His long career has produced landmark works such as his 1994 exploration of the "path between engineering and philosophy," Thinking through Technology (CH,Mar'95, 32-3863). The editors of this work acknowledge their debt to Mitcham as an inspiration for the interdisciplinary essays included in their collection. Scholars from China, Holland, and Mexico join with others from Europe and the US in this volume to examine a staggering variety of topics, ranging from subsistence farming by Ghanaian women to the roots of modern technological power as found in the Hebrew Old Testament. The editors have maintained high standards of quality and language throughout, so that nearly every essay could be the subject of a fruitful graduate philosophy seminar. The six essays in the "Religion, Science, and Technology" section explore issues seldom examined in mainstream engineering ethics works. While none of the essays is a particularly easy read, they all reward close study by the interested reader. Taken together, they provide an encyclopedic view of the relatively new field of engineering philosophy broadly defined and should prove invaluable to anyone who is seriously studying this field at the graduate level. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. * Choice Reviews * Thinking Through Science and Technology is a rich and urgently-needed contribution to our understanding of the built world and our vital human bonds with it. By moving across the boundaries of discipline, tradition and region, while joining newer voices with those of foundational leaders in science and technology studies, Miller, Jeronimo and Zhu open up fertile ground for exploration of the past, present and future of human-technology relations. -- Shannon Vallor, The University of Edinburgh Thinking through Science and Technology is the ultimate handbook for understanding the human condition in terms of the past, present and future of technology. It is also a testimony to Carl Mitcham, whose work and example provide the intellectual platform for these essays, by authors from across the globe. Readers will learn something new from each of them, and some-such as Jean-Pierre Dupuy's and Adam Briggle's-are gems in their own right. -- Steve Fuller, Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology, University of Warwick, author of Nietzschean Meditations: Untimely Thoughts at the Dawn of the Transhuman Era Three decades ago, Carl Mitcham created the core of philosophy of technology, and now Miller, Jeronimo and Zhu's volume Thinking through Science and Technology proves the impressive richness and ongoing societal importance of work that builds on that core. A must-read and excellent guide to state-of-the-art thinking about technology. -- Pieter Vermaas, Delft University of Technology In a perfectly undogmatic manner Thinking through Science and Technology offers a broad survey of problems and approaches in contemporary philosophy of technology. Coming from many countries, representing very different intellectual traditions, what the contributors share is a sense of passion, if not urgency. The path is short from foundational reflections and laboratory work to everyday questions of how to live in times of crisis. Embarked on this path, what we need is the kind of curiosity and openness to dialogue which this diverse group of contributors brings to the volume. -- Alfred Nordmann, Technische Universitat Darmstadt