9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:31 Page iii A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology Edited by Jan Kyrre Berg Olsen, Stig Andur Pedersen and Vincent F. Hendricks A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:31 Page iv This edition first published 2009 © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. 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If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A companion to the philosophy of technology / edited by Jan Kyrre Berg Olsen, Stig Andur Pedersen, and Vincent F. Hendricks. p. cm. — (Blackwell companions to philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-4601-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Technology–Philosophy. I. Olsen, Jan Kyrre Berg. II. Pedersen, Stig Andur, 1943– III. Hendricks, Vincent F. IV. Title. V. Series. T14.C5745 2009 601—dc22 2008044192 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Set in 10/12.5pt Photina by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in Singapore by Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd 1 2009 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page v Contents Notes on Contributors xi Introduction 1 Part I History of Technology 5 1 History of Technology 7 Thomas J. Misa 2 Definitions of Technology 18 Richard Li-Hua 3 Western Technology 23 Keld Nielsen 4 Chinese Technology 28 Francesca Bray 5 Islamic Technology 32 Thomas F. Glick 6 Japanese Technology 37 David Wittner 7 Technology and War 43 Bart Hacker Part II Technology and Science 49 8 Technology and Science 51 Don Ihde 9 Science and Technology: Positivism and Critique 61 Hans Radder 10 Engineering Science 66 Louis L. Bucciarelli v 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page vi contents 11 Technological Knowledge 70 Anthonie W. M. Meijers and Marc J. de Vries 12 The Interplay between Science and Technology 75 Bart Gremmen 13 Instruments in Science and Technology 78 Mieke Boon 14 Social Construction of Science 84 Harry Collins 15 Social Construction of Technology 88 Wiebe E. Bijker 16 Theory Change and Instrumentation 95 Joseph C. Pitt 17 Biology and Technology 99 Keekok Lee 18 Nuclear Technologies 104 William J. Nuttall 19 Engineering Design 112 Peter Kroes 20 Cybernetics 118 Andrew Pickering 21 Chemistry and Technology 123 Helge S. Kragh Part III Technology and Philosophy 129 22 Introduction: Philosophy and Technology 131 Val Dusek 23 Semiotics of Technology 141 Robert E. Innis 24 Critical Theory of Technology 146 Andrew Feenberg 25 Cyborgs 154 Evan Selinger 26 Simulation 157 Evan Selinger 27 Technology as “Applied Science” 160 Robert C. Scharff 28 Technological Artifacts 165 Peter-Paul Verbeek and Pieter E. Vermaas vi 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page vii contents 29 Technical Practice 172 Bart Gremmen 30 Technological Pragmatism 175 Larry Hickman 31 Hermeneutics and Technologies 180 Don Ihde 32 Analytic Philosophy of Technology 184 Maarten Franssen 33 Technological Rationality 189 Lorenzo C. Simpson 34 Phenomenology and Technology 195 Iain Thomson 35 Expertise 202 Evan Selinger 36 Imaging Technologies 205 Don Ihde 37 The Critique of the Precautionary Principle and the Possibility for an “Enlightened Doomsaying” 210 Jean-Pierre Dupuy 38 Technology and Metaphysics 214 Jean-Pierre Dupuy 39 Large Technical Systems 218 Erik van der Vleuten 40 Sociotechnical Systems 223 Maarten Franssen and Peter Kroes 41 Information Technology 227 Luciano Floridi Part IV Technology and Environment 233 42 Technology and Environment 235 Mary Tiles 43 The Precautionary Principle 248 Andy Stirling 44 Boundary-work, Pluralism and the Environment 263 Jozef Keulartz 45 Global Warming 270 Sir John Houghton vii 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page viii contents 46 The Reinvention of CO2 as Refrigerant for Both Heating and Cooling 276 Jan Hurlen 47 Environmental Science and Technology 280 Mary Tiles 48 Agriculture and Technology 285 John R. Porter and Jesper Rasmussen 49 The Built Environment 289 Christian Illies Part V Technology and Politics 295 50 Technology and Politics 297 Evan Selinger 51 The Idea of Progress 303 Daniel Sarewitz 52 Technology and Power 308 Daniel Sarewitz 53 Technology and Culture 311 Lucien Scubla 54 Technology Management 316 Richard Li-Hua 55 Technology Strategy 321 Richard Li-Hua 56 Technology and Globalization 325 David M. Kaplan 57 Technology Transfer 329 Evan Selinger 58 Technology and Capitalism 333 David M. Kaplan 59 The Politics of Gender and Technology 338 Elisabeth K. Kelan 60 European Politics, Economy and Technology 342 Erik Jones 61 Asian Politics, Economy and Technology 347 Keekok Lee 62 US Politics, Economy and Technology 353 David M. Hart 63 Energy, Technology and Geopolitics 359 John R. Fanchi viii 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page ix contents Part VI Technology and Ethics 365 64 Technology and Ethics: Overview 367 Carl Mitcham and Katinka Waelbers 65 Agriculture Ethics 384 David M. Kaplan 66 Architecture Ethics 387 Warwick A. Fox 67 Biomedical Engineering Ethics 392 Philip Brey 68 Bioethics 397 Paul B. Thomson 69 Biotechnology: Plants and Animals 402 Bart Gremmen 70 Computer Ethics 406 Philip Brey 71 Consumerism 412 Edward J. Woodhouse 72 Development Ethics 416 Thomas Kesselring 73 Energy Ethics 422 Kirsten Halsnæs 74 Engineering Ethics 426 Christelle Didier 75 Environmental Ethics 433 Thomas Søbirk Petersen 76 Food Ethics 439 David M. Kaplan 77 Future Generations 442 Jesper Ryberg 78 Genethics 445 Nils Holtug 79 Technology and the Law 449 Richard Susskind 80 Media Ethics 452 Deni Elliott 81 Medical Ethics 455 Søren Holm ix 9781405146012_1_pre.qxd 2/4/09 16:32 Page x contents 82 Nanoethics 459 John Weckert 83 Nuclear Ethics 462 Koos van der Bruggen 84 Religion and Technology 466 Carl Mitcham 85 Technology and Personal Moral Responsibility 474 Jesper Ryberg 86 Value-sensitive Design 477 Jeroen van der Hoven and Noemi Manders-Huits Part VII Technology and the Future 481 87 Technology, Prosperity and Risk 483 Sven Ove Hansson 88 World Risk Society 495 Ulrich Beck 89 Risk Analysis 500 Sven Ove Hansson 90 Prosperity and the Future of Technology 502 William Sims Bainbridge 91 Converging Technologies 508 William Sims Bainbridge 92 Nanotechnology 511 Alfred Nordmann 93 Energy Forecast Technologies 517 John R. Fanchi 94 Biotechnology 523 Jennifer Kuzma 95 Transportation 532 Jonathan L. Gifford 96 Global Challenges 538 Jennifer Kuzma 97 Chemicals 546 Bruce E. Johansen 98 The Future of Humanity 551 Nick Bostrom Index 558 x 9781405146012_4_001.qxd 2/4/09 16:26 Page 7 1 History of Technology THOMAS J. MISA A generation ago, before the much-noted “empirical turn” in philosophy, it was unlikely that an assessment of the philosophy of technology would have prominently featured the history of technology. Put simply, there were relatively few common concerns, since historians of technology rarely engaged in the sort of questions that animated philosophers of technology. Consulting the published volumes of Research in Philosophy and Technology and Technology and Culture three decades ago suggests two divergent scholarly communities, separated by research methods and background assumptions, and pursuing largely independent investigations. At the time, historians of technology were insisting on technology being an ontologically and epistemologic- ally separate category from science, and vigorously insisting that technology is not merely applied science, while philosophers were ready and more comfortable with sweeping normative assessments about the essential characteristics of technology and its impact on society. In the debates on technological determinism, philosophers of technology and historians of technology were nearly as far apart as possible: while historians of technology adamantly refuted any and all claims of technological determinism, philo- sophers of technology were as a discipline the most enthusiastic in exploring and embracing the notion that technology determines social and cultural change and that technology develops more or less autonomously of social and cultural influences (Winner 1977; Misa 2004b). In this climate, there was not so very much that the two specialist fields held in common.