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2011/12 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HPSC3700 Philosophy of Technology

10 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Dr Chris Kenny
Email: c.j.kenny@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2011/12

Pre-requisite qualifications

Students must have completed 20 credits of Level 2 Philosophy modules OR any Mind and Knowledge core module or equivalent

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

Philosophy of technology asks critical and evaluative questions about the relationship between human welfare and the technology. It aims to systematically understand the ways in which technology affects our lives and our self-images. Our intensive manipulation and transformation of natural resources raises very serious philosophical questions. The course treats a range of themes: for example the differences between the natural and the artificial; the suggestion that technology is 'applied science' which raises issues about the relationship between truth and made objects; and the more general question does technology reflect human ends 'political, moral, religious' The latter point is now of central importance as more and more ethical concerns are raised over the claims of the technological to provide the means to the 'good life'. Reflection on technology is considered by many to have critical import and not simply descriptive and analytical importance. This raises the wider issue of the role of philosophy of technology. Should philosophy of technology be carried out in the same way as traditional philosophy of science? Is it its business to criticise and raise problems or should it attempt to simply analyse the nature of technology in a more neutral fashion? Technology is a dominant way of life in many cultures. For that reason alone it merits serious analysis. Pre-requisites: EITHER 20 credits of Level 2 HPSC modules or PHIL modules, OR 40 credits of Level 2 COMM modules.

Objectives

On completion of this module students will be able to:
i) write a critical appreciation of works by several important philosophers of technology;
ii)Assess contemporary analyses of the nature of technology, especially in its relation to science;
iii) evaluate claims concerning the precipitation of new ethical problems by modern technology, especially biotechnology.

Syllabus

Philosophers of technology ask critical and evaluative questions about the nature and the effects of technology on human culture and consciousness. The course examines a variety of thinkers who have provided a systematic analysis of technology. It is an underlying assumption of the readings that our intense manipulation and transformation of natural materials for utilitarian ends demands reflection on our self-understanding, and on the nature of the good life.

Philosophy of technology tends to be neglected in traditions governed by analytic approaches to philosophical questions. Most of the readings on the course lie outside that tradition and come from what is generally labelled "continental" philosophy: for example, Martin Heidegger's conception of technology. Critical reflection on technology is often motivated by strong political and cultural agenda and this is certainly true of much of the reading on the module. This course therefore is designated "philosophical" in the sense of thinking hard about the issues, and students should be prepared to engage with materials that lie outside the analytic tradition in philosophy.

We examine the work of a wide range of thinkers, including Karl Marx, Lewis Mumford, Marshall McLuhan, Herbert Marcuse and more recent philosophers of technology such as Langdon Winner. If you want to think hard about Technology (in contrast, for instance, to examining specific technologies in historical context) then you could find this a stimulating and rewarding module. The aim is to get you to think about something which is so all-pervasive that it tends to invisibility.

Sample themes (the following list is only to illustrate the kinds of questions we will discuss):
- Issues of mechanisation and control
- The appropriation of all forms of behaviour within a technical framework
- The relationship of technology to human ends - political, moral, ethical
- The claim that a technological attitude is now seen as the only possible solution to the question of the "good life".

There are now several introductory books in philosophy of technology. All titles below are in the university library. If you have time you should have a look at one of them - especially the Langdon Winner.

Langdon Winner, Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-control as a theme in Political Thought (MIT,1987) - not really an introductory work but an excellent survey with a specific claim and very readable, highly recommended.

Carl Mitcham, Thinking Through Technology: the path between engineering and philosophy (1994) - dense encyclopaedic and a bit dull but highly informative.

Frederick Ferre, Philosophy of Technology (1995)

Joseph C. Pitt, Thinking about Technology: foundations of the philosophy of technology (2000) - basic.

Don Ihde, Philosophy of Technology: an introduction (1993) - basic

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Seminar	11	2.00	22.00
Private study hours			78.00
Total Contact hours			22.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			100.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

1 x 2,000 word essay

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2,000 words to be submitted at the end of the teaching semester	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 13/03/2012

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