Dias Philosophy for Engineering

Practice, Context, Ethics, Models, Failure
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-981-15-1271-1
Verlag: Springer Singapore
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 132 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

This book highlights the unique need for philosophy among engineers, which stems from issues regarding their knowledge (epistemology), role or being (ontology) and influence (ethics). It discusses practice, context, ethics, models and failure as key aspects of engineering, and provides an easy but essential introduction to philosophy for engineers by presenting four key philosophers and linking them to these aspects: Karl Popper (failure), Thomas Kuhn (models), Michael Polanyi (practice & ethics) and Martin Heidegger (context & ethics). Popper, Kuhn and Polanyi are philosophers of science (epistemologists) who have challenged the view that science is a ‘cool, detached’ discipline, since it also depends on human imagination (Popper), consensus (Kuhn) and judgment plus artistry (Polanyi); factors that are central to engineering. Heidegger (an ontologist) critiqued technology on the one hand (ethics), but also stressed the importance of ‘doing’ over ‘knowing,’ thus ‘authenticating’ the highly pragmatic engineering profession. Science is the ‘core’ component of engineering, which is overlaid by a variety of heuristics . Practice-based knowledge can be formalized, with artificial intelligence (AI) offering a valuable tool for engineering, just as mathematics has done for science. The book also examines systems thinking in engineering. Featuring numerous diagrams, tables and examples throughout, the book is easily accessible to engineers.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dias, Priyan

Weitere Mitwirkende

Blockley, David

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Foreword;7
2;Preface;9
3;Contents;11
4;1 Introduction: From Engineering to Philosophy;14
4.1;1.1 What Defines Engineering? Practice, Context, Ethics, Models, Failure;14
4.2;1.2 Which Philosophers Do We Turn to? Popper, Kuhn, Polanyi, Heidegger;16
4.3;1.3 How Is This Book Engineered?;18
4.4;1.4 Summary;19
4.5;References;20
5;2 Are Engineers Makers or Thinkers?;21
5.1;2.1 Do Engineers Have an Identity Crisis?;21
5.2;2.2 The Engineer’s Influence: More Harm Than Good?;23
5.3;2.3 The Engineer’s Role: Scientist or Manager?;25
5.4;2.4 The Engineer’s Knowledge: Theoretical or Practical?;28
5.5;2.5 Formalizing Practice;30
5.6;2.6 Summary;31
5.7;References;32
6;3 Are Failures the Pillars of Success?;34
6.1;3.1 All Life Is Problem Solving;34
6.2;3.2 Popper’s Problem Solving Methodology;34
6.3;3.3 Extending the Methodology;36
6.4;3.4 Cyclic Engineering Processes;38
6.5;3.5 The Role of Failure in Engineering;44
6.6;3.6 Failures in Various Components of the CPM;46
6.7;3.7 The Genetic Algorithm for Optimization and Design;52
6.8;3.8 Summary;54
6.9;References;55
7;4 Will Any Old Model Do?;58
7.1;4.1 Paradigms and Revolutions;58
7.2;4.2 Normal Science Within the Ruling Paradigm;58
7.3;4.3 Scientific Revolutions and Progress;59
7.3.1;4.3.1 The Nature of Revolutions;59
7.3.2;4.3.2 A Different World;60
7.3.3;4.3.3 Progress Through Revolutions;62
7.4;4.4 Revolutions in Structural Design;63
7.4.1;4.4.1 Some Historical Revolutions;63
7.4.2;4.4.2 The Plastic Design Revolution;65
7.4.3;4.4.3 Relativity and Progress of Knowledge;67
7.5;4.5 Engineering Models;68
7.6;4.6 Summary;73
7.7;References;74
8;5 Shared Values for Aesthetics and Ethics?;75
8.1;5.1 Can Values Be Measured?;75
8.2;5.2 What Is an Elegant Solution?;75
8.3;5.3 Differing Views of Aesthetics;77
8.4;5.4 An Example of the Aesthetics of Proportion;79
8.5;5.5 Morality and Faith;81
8.6;5.6 Engineering Ethics;83
8.7;5.7 The Engineer, the Public and the Professional Institution;84
8.8;5.8 Summary;86
8.9;References;87
9;6 Is Technology Neutral?;89
9.1;6.1 Suspicion and Questioning;89
9.2;6.2 Technology and ‘Enframing’;90
9.3;6.3 Art and Poetry;92
9.4;6.4 Questioning in Engineering Practice;93
9.5;6.5 Ethics and Metaphor;96
9.6;6.6 Two Caveats;97
9.7;6.7 Summary;98
9.8;References;98
10;7 Is Knowledge Acquired by Thinking or Doing?;100
10.1;7.1 Being and Time;100
10.2;7.2 The Primacy of Practice Over Theory;101
10.3;7.3 The Engineer’s Existential Role;103
10.4;7.4 Engineering in Time;106
10.5;7.5 From Average Everydayness to Existential Pleasure in Engineering;107
10.6;7.6 Summary;109
10.7;References;109
11;8 Can Practice Based Knowledge Be Formalized?;111
11.1;8.1 Practice Based Knowledge;111
11.2;8.2 Michael Polanyi: Tacit Knowing;112
11.3;8.3 Martin Heidegger: Pre-theoretical Shared Practices;114
11.4;8.4 Categories of Practice Based Knowledge;115
11.5;8.5 Practice Based Knowledge Modelling: Examples;116
11.5.1;8.5.1 Modelling Tacit Knowledge: Construction Bid Decisions;116
11.5.2;8.5.2 Modelling Shared Practice: Layout Design;117
11.5.3;8.5.3 Cognitivist Modelling: Expert System for Cracks in Concrete;118
11.5.4;8.5.4 Modelling Horizontal Knowledge: Vulnerability of Buildings to Bomb Blast;119
11.6;8.6 Polanyi, Heidegger and Artificial Intelligence;121
11.7;8.7 Summary;122
11.8;References;122
12;9 Conclusion: From Philosophy to Engineering;125
12.1;9.1 Looking Back;125
12.1.1;9.1.1 The Path We Have Taken;125
12.1.2;9.1.2 Practice;125
12.1.3;9.1.3 Context;126
12.1.4;9.1.4 Ethics;126
12.1.5;9.1.5 Models;127
12.1.6;9.1.6 Failure;128
12.2;9.2 Looking Forward;128
12.2.1;9.2.1 Paths not Trodden;128
12.2.2;9.2.2 Where Do We Go from Here?;130
12.3;9.3 Summary;131
12.4;References;131

Über Autor(innen)

Priyan Dias obtained a doctorate from Imperial College at the University of London and is now a Senior Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Moratuwa. He has been Head of Department from 2007 to 2010 and the inaugural Director of Research for the university from 2014 to 2017. He is a Fellow and currently Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences (Sri Lanka); and also an associate editor of the international journal Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems. His research interests span areas such as concrete technology, systems methods and engineering philosophy. A book of his on reinforced concrete design examples is widely used by students and structural engineers.