Philip Brey

The theme of this volume is the multi-faceted 'computational turn' that is occurring through the interaction of the disciplines of philosophy and computing. In computer and information sciences, there are significant conceptual and methodological questions that require reflection and analysis. Moreover, digital, information and communication technologies have had tremendous impact on society, which raises further philosophical questions. This book tries to facilitate the task to continuously work to ensure that its diversity of perspectives and methods proves a source of strength and collaboration rather than a source of instability and disintegration. The first three contributions explore the phenomenon of virtual worlds. The next four focus on robots and artificial agents. Then a group of chapters discusses the relation between human mentality and information processing in computers and the final section covers a broad range of issues at the interface of computers and society.

This essay addresses the question of how sustainable development is possible, giving special reference to the role of technology. It argues that the dominant strategy for sustainable development that is now operative, ecological modernization, is insufficient, and that the reform of technology and of systems of production alone will not yield sustainable development. After a brief discussion of the notion of sustainable development, the current strategy for sustainability, ecological modernization, is outlined (§ 1). This strategy is then subjected to a critique, because of its one-sided emphasis on the reform of production systems, its belief in a 'technological fix' and its retention of an unsustainable ideal of economic growth (§ 2). Finally (§ 3), it is argued that sustainable development requires a reform of lifestyles and systems of consumption, next to the ecological reform of systems of production. Reform of technology can actually contribute to the reform of lifestyles and consumption patterns, but only as part of a comprehensive reform strategy.

In this dissertation, it is investigated what role cognitive science is to play in a thoroughly naturalized epistemology and philosophy of science. The dissertation consists of four parts. In part I, the aim is to investigate what research questions and methods are valid in a naturalized approach to issues in epistemology and philosophy of science. This part contains a critical discussion of contemporary naturalistic approaches, in particular the cognitive approaches of Alvin Goldman, Paul Thagard, Paul Churchland, and Ron Giere. Following this discussion, a number of descriptive, explanatory and normative projects in epistemology and the philosophy of science is outlined, and it is investigated how these are best approached methodologically. ;In part II, the aim is to investigate the proper relation between cognitive and sociological approaches in the study of knowledge. I begin with an assessment of the reducibility of aspects of science to cognitive states and processes, implying that their descriptive analysis is a task of a cognitive philosophy of science. Next, the role of social and cognitive factors in the explanation and in the evaluation of knowledge states and processes is examined. Finally, I analyze cognitive and sociological methodologies in the study of science, in particular those of Thagard, Giere, David Bloor and Steve Woolgar, and outline my own methodology. ;In Part III, a cognitive framework is outlined for a cognitive epistemology and philosophy of science. This framework integrates connectionist approaches in cognitive science with enactivist approaches and work in schema theory and cognitive model theory. ;In part IV, this cognitive framework is applied in an investigation of the structure and function of theoretical knowledge. I begin with a general analysis of the theoretical structure of knowledge. Next, I investigate various theoretical functions: prediction, descriptive-analysis, explanation and unification, and analyze these in terms of the problem-solving abilities they confer. Next, I propose a cognitive account of scientific theories that integrates model-theoretic and Kuhnian perspectives, and assigns a central role to iconic models in science. Finally, I propose cognitive-pragmatic analyses of realism, truth, and epistemic virtue

A growing literature testifies to the persistence of place as an incorrigible aspect of human experience, identity, and morality. Place is a common ground for thought and action, a community of experienced particulars that avoids solipsism and universalism. It draws us into the philosophy of the ordinary, into familiarity as a form of knowledge, into the wisdom of proximity. Each of these essays offers a philosophy of place, and reminds us that such philosophies ultimately decide how we make, use, and understand places, whether as accidents, instruments, or fields of care

Introduces contemporary American philosophy of technology through six of its leading figures. The six American philosophers of technology whose work is profiled in this clear and concise introduction to the field--Albert Borgmann, Hubert Dreyfus, Andrew Feenberg, Donna Haraway, Don Ihde, and Langdon Winner--represent a new, empirical direction in the philosophical study of technology that has developed mainly in North America. In place of the grand philosophical schemes of the classical generation of European philosophers of technology (including Martin Heidgger, Jacques Ellul, and Hans Jonas), the contemporary American generation addresses concrete technological practices and the co-evolution of technology and society in modern culture. Six Dutch philosophers associated with Twente University survey and critique the full scope and development of their American colleagues' work, often illustrating shifts from earlier to more recent interests. Individual chapters focus on Borgmann's engagement with technology and everyday life; Dreyfus's work on the limits of artificial intelligence; Feenberg's perspectives on the cultural and social possibilities opened by technologies; Haraway's conception of the cyborg and its attendant blurring of boundaries; Ihde's explorations of the place of technology in the lifeworld; and Winner's fascination with the moral and political implications of modern technologies. American Philosophy of Technology offers an insightful and readable introduction to this new and distinctly American philosophical turn.