Teaching about technology, at all levels of education, can only be done properly when those who teach have a clear idea about what it is that they teach. In other words: they should be able to give a decent answer to the question: what is technology? In the philosophy of technology that question is explored. Therefore the philosophy of technology is a discipline with a high relevance for those who teach about technology. Literature in this field, though, is not alwa… More >>
Teaching about Technology: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Technology for Non-philosophers
Tags: About, decent answer, Discipline, education, Introduction, Nonphilosophers, philosophers, Philosophy, philosophy of technology, Relevance, teaching, Technology, technology literature
#1 by doug on January 27, 2010 - 10:55 pm
The meat of the book is barely over a hundred pages. It is very sparse in its coverage of the topic. It feels like reading handouts for a class that I didn’t attend. For example, Don Ihde’s work is only mentioned in a couple of paragraphs.
So I like the book and its topic, but it is not a standalone resource. It leans heavily on the 1994 ‘Thinking Through Technology’ book by Carl Mitcham.
Similar recent books to look at, depending on your interests, include: “Acting with Technology” (Bonnie Nardi), “Postphenomenology: A Critical Companion to Ihde”, as well as of course other philosophy of technology books, including one by Ihde.
Marc de Vries also is or was I believe the editor of the “International Journal of Technology and Design Education”, where there appeared a full review of this book.
Rating: 4 / 5