Workshop: Global Perspectives on Philosophy of Engineering and Technology
A dialogue between Diane Michelfelder and Neelke Doorn, editors of the Routledge Handbook for Philosophy of Engineering (2021) and Shannon Vallor, editor of the Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Technology (2021), hosted by Carl Mitcham.
Thursday, 11 November 2021
9pm Hong Kong / 3pm Central Europe / 2pm Edinburgh / 7am Central US / 6am Mountain US
Online Event: Register to join via Zoom
Facebook Event
This event brings together the editors of two major new leading reference works on the philosophy of engineering and technology ̶ Diane Michelfelder, Neelke Doorn, and Shannon Vallor ̶ to share their perspectives on the fields. The dialogue will be hosted by Carl Mitcham, a contributor to both volumes.
Diane P. Michelfelder is Professor of Philosophy at Macalester College (St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA). She has also been a leading contributor to creation and development of fPET ( Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology) as a founding member of its steering committee. Diane Michelfelder has served the Society for Philosophy of Technology in multiple roles, including as president and as co-editor-in-chief of the society’s journal, Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. Her work has appeared in Techné as well as in Science and Engineering Ethics, AI & Society, Philosophy and Technology, Engineering Studies, and Ethics and Information Technology. Her most recent (2020) book volume, co-edited with Neelke Doorn, is The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering.
Neelke Doorn is distinguished Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor of Water Engineering Ethics in the Department of Philosophy at Delft University of Technology and former Assistant Director of the 4TU Centre of Ethics and Technology. She has a background in philosophy (PhD MA), civil engineering (MSc) and law (LLM). Neelke Doorn has authored/co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Until 2020, she was editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. She is the author of Water Ethics: An Introduction (2019) and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering (2021).
Shannon Vallor is the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence and Director of the Centre for Technomoral Futures in the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh, where she is also appointed in the Department of Philosophy. Shannon Vallor’s research explores how emerging technologies reshape human moral and intellectual character, and maps the ethical challenges and opportunities posed by new uses of data and artificial intelligence. Her work includes advising academia, government and industry on the ethical design and use of AI, and she is a former Visiting Researcher and AI Ethicist at Google. She is the author of Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting (Oxford University Press, 2016) and editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Technology. She is the recipient of multiple awards for teaching, scholarship and public engagement, including the 2015 World Technology Award in Ethics.
Carl Mitcham is International Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Technology at Renmin University of China, Beijing, and Emeritus Professor of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Colorado School of Mines (Golden, Colorado, USA). His publications include Thinking through Technology: The Path between Engineering and Philosophy (1994), Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics (4 vols., 2005), Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity (2010, with Robert Frodeman and Julie Thompson Klein), Ethics and Science: An Introduction (2012, with Adam Briggle), and Steps toward a Philosophy of Engineering: Historico-Philosophical and Critical Essays (2020). Carl Mitcham has also served as a member of the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994-2000) and on expert study groups for the European Commission (2009 and 2012). Awards include the 2006 World Technology Award in Ethics and a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Universitat Internacional Valenciana, Spain (2010). He is a contributor to both volumes that are the focus of this dialogue.
About the series
The Dialogues on Philosophy and Technology seminar series is initiated by the Cosmotechnics/Critical AI research project, supported by the City University of Hong Kong in collaboration with the Research Network for Philosophy and Technology. The series running from Fall/Spring 2021/22 features talks and workshops with leading scholars in the philosophy of technology and aims to address urgent questions on philosophy and technology today. Upcoming events include a talk by philosopher Jean-Hugues Barthélémy (24 November 2021) and Susanna Lindberg, Professor, Leiden University, (7 December 2021).
Follow our Facebook Page or sign-up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on upcoming events.
More information:
Routledge Handbook for Philosophy of Engineering (Edited By Diane P. Michelfelder, Neelke Doorn. UK: , 2021)
Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Technology (Edited by Shannon Vallor. UK: Oxford, 2021)
