Historiography: Why Should Historians Pay More Attention to Philosophy of Technology?

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Technology marks the maturity of the philosophy of technology, which has lagged behind the history of technology as a distinct field. The book's thirty-two chapters span almost seven hundred pages, written by thirty-four authors from twelve countries. Shanno...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inTechnology and culture Vol. 65; no. 3; p. 967
Main Author Schatzberg, Eric
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Johns Hopkins University Press 01.07.2024
Subjects
20th century
Anglophones
Engineering
Epistemology
Ethics
Handbooks
Historians
Historiography
History
History, 20th Century
Humans
Knowledge
Philosophers
Philosophy
Philosophy - history
Science
Technology
Technology - history
Unevenness
United States > US
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Technology marks the maturity of the philosophy of technology, which has lagged behind the history of technology as a distinct field. The book's thirty-two chapters span almost seven hundred pages, written by thirty-four authors from twelve countries. Shannon Vallor, professor of philosophy at University of Edinburgh, edited the volume and wrote its excellent introduction, which provides a historical framing that is largely absent from the rest of the volume. Although many of the remaining chapters are quite strong, the volume as a whole suffers from an unevenness that reflects the conceptual disunity of the field. Nevertheless, the volume shows the value of this field for historians of technology, especially as an alternative to the stale STS theories that many historians of technology draw on.
ISSN:0040-165X
1097-3729
DOI:10.1353/tech.2024.a933101