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Philosophy of Activism and Community Management in Water Systems

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Spanish Philosophy of Technology

Part of the book series: Philosophy of Engineering and Technology ((POET,volume 24))

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Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of the forms of community participation in drinking water production systems, especially in rural areas of Latin American countries, bearing in mind Studies on Science, Technology and Society, also known as Social Studies of Science. The proposed philosophy of activism regarding participatory experiences in water issues is based on the interpretative flexibility that appears in the definition of the technical aspects of the systems and in the ethical-political aspects of water access.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In its origins, STS presented two separate trends and different aims: an activist STS, which arose from the concern about undesirable effects resulting from technical and scientific development, which was represented by the acronym “Science, Technology and Society”; and another, more academic STS, focused on the analysis of the construction of knowledge based on sociology, history and philosophy of science, which uses the labels “Studies on Science and Technology” and “Social Studies of Science” (González 2004). In either case, the fields of delimitation as well as the “cross fertilizations” between different perspectives are a frequent subject of study (Cozzens 2001, quoted by González 2004).

  2. 2.

    For such considerations, water supply systems can be considered technological systems (Hughes 1983, 1987). Constructive technology assessment is a technology generation process that starts from the early, corrective interposition of emerging technologies in order to modulate their evolution, range, and type of impacts. Within this process, orientations by experts and social groups take place in such a way that the assessment process reflects the diversity of values and interests (Rip et al. 1995; García et al. 2001, pp. 65–67).

  3. 3.

    Constructive technology assessment is a technology generation process that commences with the early and corrective interposition of emerging technologies in order to modulate their evolution, range, and type of impacts. This process is guided by experts and social groups take place, in such a way that the assessment process reflects the diversity of values and interests (Rip et al. 1995; García et al. 2001, pp. 65–67).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

    Carlos Augusto Osorio Marulanda

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  1. Carlos Augusto Osorio Marulanda
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Correspondence to Carlos Augusto Osorio Marulanda .

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  1. Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Belén Laspra

  2. Department of Philosophy, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    José Antonio López Cerezo

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Osorio Marulanda, C.A. (2018). Philosophy of Activism and Community Management in Water Systems. In: Laspra, B., López Cerezo, J. (eds) Spanish Philosophy of Technology. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71958-0_15

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