Courses Detail Information
PHIL2030J – Introduction to Philosophy of Technology for Engineers
Instructors:
Credits:
3 credites
Pre-requisites:
Description:
Engineering and technology play crucial roles in shaping today’s world, having the power to either enhance or harm it. This course aims to provide engineers with a profound introduction to the main issues in today’s philosophy of technology. We will explore fundamental questions about the nature of technology, its relationship with society, and its ethical implications. Through key philosophical perspectives—from Martin Heidegger’s critique of modern technology to the contemporary
postphenomenology—students will examine how technology influences human perception, agency, and values. The course will also address contemporary debates on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructures, and sustainability, equipping engineers with the critical tools to assess the
broader impact of their work. By integrating historical and modern perspectives, this course encourages students to reflect on their role as creators and users of technology, fostering a responsible and informed approach to engineering in an increasingly complex technological
landscape.
Course Topics:
1. Defining the concept of technology from the philosophical standpoint: different approaches to the definition of technology
2. History and the landscape of philosophy of technology.
3. Early philosophy of technology: existential approach of Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger.
4. Critical theory in today’s philosophy of technology.
5. Postphenomenology, Material Hermeneutics, and Mediation Theory.
6. Information technologies and ethics of information.
7. Feminism and philosophy of technology.
8. Technology, art, and creativity.
9. Intercultural and Transcultural Philosophy of Technology.
10. Philosophy of engineering and its practical implications for engineers.
11. The moral status of technology: artificial moral agents and the problem of artificial evil.
12. Posthumanism, Transhumanism, and Genetic Engineering.
13. Climate change and Geoengineering: the problem of ‘Anthropocene’.
14. Philosophy of technology and other academic disciplines