Steps toward a Philosophy of Engineering

Carl Mitcham is International Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Technology at Renmin University of China and Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Colorado School of Mines. His publications include Thinking through Technology (1994), and Ethics and Science: An Introduction (2012, with Adam Briggle).

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsFragments in Search of an Introduction:Remarks on Engineering as a Theme in Philosophy[Introduction]EmergenceDual Contexts: West and EastEngineering StudiesAmerican InitiativesEngineering in WordsPhilosophy and EngineeringEngineering Is EverywhereAspirationsPart One1. Science, Technology, Engineering, and the Military[Introduction]Observations from HistoryHistorico-Philosophical BackgroundAfter World War II in the United StatesMilitary Embeds with Philosophy of EngineeringConclusionAddendum: Re-Engineering Warfare2. Ethics into Design[Introduction]On the Existence of DesignOn the Social Dimensions of Modern DesignOn the Ethics of DesigningTwo Versions of an Ethics in DesignNotes toward an Inner Ethics of DesignNotes3. The Importance of Philosophy to Engineering[Introduction]1. Self-Defense and Philosophy2. Self-Interest and Philosophy3. Excursus: Three Questions4. Engineering and Ethics5. Beyond Applied Et

As a book to read cover-to-cover, Steps toward a Philosophy of Engineering possesses both the charms and tics of any collection of previously published essays. This collection of Mitcham's essays is a clearly-written, generous, and thoughtful guide. In other words, the volume as a whole should be assigned reading in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses.