Abstract
Dialectics of engineering are here defined as tensions pulling the engineering enterprise in opposite directions simultaneously, or ways in which engineering seems to be at odds with itself or with our perceptions of it. We offer several examples of such dialectics in the belief that they represent some of the key issues upon which any deeper understanding of engineering hinges. The introduction highlights an initial dialectic of scope that is encountered when it comes to studying the activity of engineering – that the closer it is scrutinized, the less well-defined engineering seems to become. The following section features dialectics concerned with engineering’s identity. These include the enigma of engineering’s simultaneous ubiquity and obscurity in society, the question of engineering’s status as a distinct profession, and the tensions between the technical and organizational roles of engineers. Next, dialectics of engineering’s purpose are highlighted, including a comparison of engineering ideals with practical realities, and an outline of engineering’s equivocal contribution to societal understanding of technology. Finally, a dialectic of method is presented which contrasts the inward-focused nature of engineering methods with the outward-focused nature of engineering’s purposes.
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Newberry, B. (2015). The Dialectics of Engineering. In: Christensen, S., Didier, C., Jamison, A., Meganck, M., Mitcham, C., Newberry, B. (eds) Engineering Identities, Epistemologies and Values. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 21. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16172-3_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16172-3_1
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