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Are There Any Philosophically Interesting Questions in Technology?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Max Black
Max Black*
Affiliation:
Cornell University
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Extract

One is tempted to begin with the infuriating philosophical ploy, “It all depends upon what you mean by ‘philosophy’ and by ‘technology’.” Those two words are in fact used in such fluctuating, imprecise, and implicitly controversial ways, that I am uncertain about the topic of this discussion. On being asked by an interviewer whether he minded answering questions, a great man said “No, I don't mind. If I can't answer a question, I shall give you an answer to some other question.” In this spirit, one might substitute for the question assigned to us the following one: “Can anybody identified as a ‘philosopher’ hope to contribute to understanding, and perhaps ultimately improving, whatever it is that people refer to as ‘Technology’?” In trying to answer this question, I shall outline my own conception of the tasks of a useful philosophy of technology.

Type
Part III. Are There Any Philosophically Interesting Questions in Technology?
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1976 , Issue 2: Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers 1976 , 1976 , pp. 185 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © 1977 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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References

[1] Bunge, Mario. “The Philosophical Richness of Technology.” In PSA 1976, Volume Two. Edited by Suppe, F. and Asquith, P.D.. East Lansing: Philosophy of Science Association, 1977. Pages 153–172.Google Scholar
[2] Dorf, Richar C. Technology, Society and Man. San Francisco: Boyd & Fraser, 1974.Google Scholar
[3] Goodman, Paul. “Chapter 1.” The New Reformation. New York: Random House, 1969. (As reprinted as “Can Technology be Humane?” in Teich, Albert H. (ed.) Technology and Man's Future. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972. Pages 178–193).Google Scholar
[4] Mansfield, Edwin. Technological Change. New York: Norton, 1971.Google Scholar
[5] Merrill, Rober S. “The Study of Technology.” In The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences Vol. 15. Edited by Sills, David L.. New York: Macmillan and The Free Press, 1968. Pages 576–589.Google Scholar
[6] Rothschild, Emma. Paradise Lost: The Decline of the Autoindustrial Age. New York: Random House, 1973.Google Scholar