The Role of Technology in Science: Philosophical Perspectives (Philosophy of Engineering and Technology Book 18)

This edited volume explores the interplay between philosophies in a wide-ranging analysis of how technological applications in science inform our systems of thought. Beginning with a historical background, the volume moves on to explore a host of topics, such as the uses of technology in scientific observations and experiments, the salient relationship between technology and mechanistic notions in science and the ways in which today’s vast and increasing computing power helps scientists achieve results that were previously unattainable. Technology allows today’s researchers to gather, in a matter of hours, data that would previously have taken weeks or months to assemble. It also acts as a kind of metaphor bank, providing biologists in particular with analogies (the heart as a ‘pump’, the nervous system as a ‘computer network’) that have become common linguistic currency. This book also examines the fundamental epistemological distinctions between technology and science and assesses their continued relevance. Given the increasing amalgamation of the philosophies of science and technology, this fresh addition to the literature features pioneering work in a promising new field that will appeal both to philosophers and scientific historiographers. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Preview....Pages 3-9 Science and Technology: What They Are and Why Their Relation Matters....Pages 11-23 Front Matter....Pages 25-25 Technological Thinking in Science....Pages 27-53 The Scientific Use of Technological Instruments....Pages 55-79 Experiments Before Science. What Science Learned from Technological Experiments....Pages 81-110 Front Matter....Pages 111-111 Iteration Unleashed. Computer Technology in Science....Pages 113-130 Computer Simulations: A New Mode of Scientific Inquiry?....Pages 131-148 Adopting a Technological Stance Toward the Living World. Promises, Pitfalls and Perils....Pages 149-172 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Goal Rationality in Science and Technology. An Epistemological Perspective....Pages 175-192 Reflections on Rational Goals in Science and Technology; A Comment on Olsson....Pages 193-205 The Naturalness of the Naturalistic Fallacy and the Ethics of Nanotechnology....Pages 207-224 Human Well-Being, Nature and Technology. A Comment on Dorato....Pages 225-233 Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Technology: One or Two Philosophies of One or Two Objects?....Pages 235-258