The wisdom of engineers

"Philosophical questions about the external world and our knowledge of it are almost exclusively raised from the armchair. The knowledge we gain in everyday life or develop through scientific investigation is considered at the conceptual level, and its claim as genuine knowledge is assessed in abstraction from its exercise and application. This intellectually aloof manner is one reason that Anglo-American philosophy tends not to inform itself directly with scientific findings. Empirical studies of the world are apt for philosophical analysis, but few philosophers use them to inform that analysis. It is not surprising therefore that engineering has so far been uncharted territory for philosophers. But what would philosophers learn if they engaged with this practical discipline, a discipline that seeks not to understand the world but to change it?"

by Natasha McCarthyin The Philosophers' Magazine

 

Read the full article.

 

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons.