Introduction

Abstract

New Waves in Philosophy of Technology focuses on the immense challenges that technical artefacts, methods and systems pose to both philosophy and society. In so doing, it clarifies how technological complexity and ubiquity have transformed the very nature of philosophical inquiry. The guiding assumption that runs throughout the volume is that the long-standing divide between analytic and continental philosophy needs to be overcome. The wisdom found within the different traditions of philosophy itself needs to be integrated by principals who can clarify and assess multifaceted dimensions of technology in a thought-provoking and rigorous manner. Because we intend for the volume to advance research in the philosophy of technology, the contributions that follow are all composed by thinkers who have an acute sense of the epistemic, ontological and normative presuppositions that currently limit the field. Because we want the text to facilitate critical thought rather than advance a partisan agenda, emphasis is given to conflicting perspectives on a range of issues. Some contributors call for traditional conceptual resources to be replaced by new methods and concepts. Others advocate for long-standing ideas to be defended in order to make sense of and assess innovation.