STS/PHIL 5306: Main Themes in the Philosophy of Modern Science and Technology
[Philosophy of Technology focus]
CRN: 97753 (Bburg) or 97816 (NCR)
******Syllabus – Rough DRAFT, some readings TBD and subject to change******
FALL 2012, Mondays 7-9pm
Rooms:
Contact Information
Professor Ashley Shew
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:00am-12:00pm and by appointment (and via Skype: ashewandzz)
Office Phone: (540)231-1810
Email: shew@vt.edu or ashley.shew@gmail.com (preferred)
Course Description:
Technology: A defining feature of humanity? Something that alienates people from themselves? A
transformative power over nature? An extension of humans themselves? An extension of science, or a
scientized practice in its modern form? A marvel or the cause of mayhem? A neutral force that can be
utilized for good, or for more sinister things?
In this course, we set out to make sense of the way in which technology is constructed, defined, and
understood by individuals, and against (within?) nature. The purpose of this course is to give students a
strong overview of themes and critiques within philosophy of technology and to provide students the
tools to engage with and utilize philosophy of technology within their own work. To these ends, the
design of this course is one of hybridity and flexibility.
Philosophy of technology is the product of interest from (at least) three bodies of inquiry. (1)
Philosophers of science became interested in instrumentation and its role in scientific practice and
theory. (2) Historians and sociologists considered trends and overarching themes in the deployment,
acceptance, and use of technologies. (3) Continental and phenomenological philosophers reflected on
the meaning, role, and transformative power of technology in our lives. In this course, we will survey
and critically assess all three approaches to the philosophy of technology, their accounts, models, and
definitions of technology, as well as work to develop alternative or improved accounts as appropriate.
I will start out with the assumption that participants do not have backgrounds in philosophy, but are
capable of critical engagement with philosophy of technology when properly situated. (Situating you in
this context is my job here.) Though our readings will come mostly from philosophers (from a variety
of philosophical traditions), we'll also draw significantly from sociology and history of technology
because of their importance within the field. We will investigate some themes within philosophy of
technology in more detail due to their relevance to STS scholars, including the themes of hybridity,
cyborgs, nature, bodies, and the relationship between sciences and technologies.
This course will be an experiment in synchronous-asynchronous hybridized content to better cater to
and integrate NCR and Blacksburg students. Classes will meet by VTEL on Monday evenings as
scheduled, but we will meet for only two hours. Short-ish prerecorded lectures and/or video links will
be available on Scholar (and participants are expected to listen to or watch these before class each
week). Participants will be expected to exchange summaries and comment on each other's work on the
class Scholar site forum (this counts as the asynchronous content in the course). The instructor will be
accessible by Skype during office hours and plans to make multiple visits (at least 2) to teach from the
Falls Church campus.
Assignments and Grading:
Comments/Exercises on Scholar Forums [worth 25 %]: boards will be set up for students to share
articles and thoughts on our readings and related information. I encourage students to exchange links to
papers or news or examples that illustrate what we discuss in class (please keep it classy) , and I will
require weekly posting from each student relating to our course material. Postings can be questions
about the reading, responses to others' questions, critiques of arguments within our texts, etc. This
online requirement is intentional and used to help facilitate a more fair distribution of comments
between NCR and Blacksburg.
Paper(s) [worth 50%]: students may choose to complete either three 5-8 page short papers or one 1524 page research paper.
 If you decide to complete the three 5-8 page short papers, we will actually discuss on our
Scholar forum what appropriate prompts might be to write on, and then I will form a list of
appropriate prompts from which you can choose – or you can ask for a different prompt of your
own choosing.
 If you decide to complete one 15-24 page paper, be prepared to submit a topic proposal (a few
paragraphs) by the end of October.
Presentations and participation [worth 25%]: These presentations will be on our assigned readings,
and sign-ups will take place on Scholar during the second week of class. Students will be expected to
introduce a reading and guide the discussion for the class period. I encourage you to bring in outside
references, examples, and media.
Note: All class readings will be posted to Scholar. You will not need to buy any textbooks.
August 27: Why Philosophy of Technology?
Before class: listen to prerecorded lecture (.mp3 format) on “Origins of Philosophy of Technology”
Carl Mitcham, TTT, Intro (1993).
James H. Moor, “Why we need better ethics for emerging technologies,” 2005.
Melvin Kranzberg and Carroll W. Pursell, Jr., “The Importance of Technology in Human Affairs”
September 3: Between Science and Technology: Defining Technology
Edwin Layton, “Through the Looking Glass”
TBD
September 10: Questioning Technology
Watch Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance (1982, run time: 1 hr. 26 min.) before class. Available:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/27800/koyaanisqatsi – because of the length of the film there will be no
pre-recorded lecture for Sept 3
Martin Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology,” Scholar PDF in Resources Folder
Hubert Dryfus, “Heidegger on Gaining a Free Relation to Technology,” Scholar PDF in Resources
Folder
September 17: The Human Cyborg
Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” Scholar PDF in Resources Folder
News Story: “Meet the Real Life Human Cyborgs”: http://www.techradar.com/news/world-oftech/meet-the-real-life-human-cyborgs-600543
September 24: The Human Cyborg II
Don Ihde: “Aging: I don't want to be a Cyborg” (Ch 3 of Ironic Technics), Scholar PDF
Carl Elliott: “A New Way to be Mad,” Available:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/12/a-new-way-to-be-mad/4671/
Alastair MacIntyre, “Seven Traits for the Future,” Scholar PDF
First short papers due.
October 1: Engineering Philosophy
Mitcham
October 8: Environmental Crises
Nicholar Rescher: “The Environmental Crisis and the Quality of Life” (Ch 2 of Unpopular Essays on
Technological Progress), Scholar PDF
Geoengineering Readings TBA
October 15: Nature and Technology
October 29: Nature and Technology II
Research paper proposals due.
November 5: Technology and Knowledge
I.C. Jarvie, “Technology and the Structure of Knowledge,” from Philosophy of Technology (Mitcham
and Mackey, editors).
Baird, “Thing Knowledge,” Scholar PDF from Techne
xxx
Second short papers due.
November 12: Dual Nature Programme and its Discontents
Langdon Winner, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?,” Scholar PDF
November 19: NO CLASS – Holiday
November 26: Social Construction of Technology
Trevor Pinch and Wiebe Bijker: “The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts,” Scholar PDF
Stewart Russell: “The Social Construction of Artefacts: A Response to Pinch and Bijker,” Scholar PDF
December 3: Modernity, Postmodernity
Jacques Ellul, “The Technological Order,” Scholar PDF
Don Ihde: “Of Which Human are we Post?” (Ch 4 of Ironic Technics), Scholar PDF
December 10: Applied Ethics and Technology
Matt McCormick, “Is it wrong to play violent video games?,” Scholar PDF
Monique Wonderly, “A Humean approach to assessing the moral significance of ultra-violent video
games,” Scholar PDF
December 14: *****FINAL PAPERS DUE by 9pm EST***** (This is the deadline for either the
third short papers or final research papers, depending on which paper option you've chosen.)
All incomplete work also due at this time, unless discussed with instructor PRIOR to this date.