The concept of engineering is problematic. Despite of the ancient practices of engineering, may be as old as humanity, engineering recently appeared as an academic discipline: engineering studies in universities can be traced back to the nineteenth century. Engineering has been defined as a practice, a process, a profession, and the application of scientific knowledge. However, if engineering is the application of scientific knowledge, there is a tacit assertion of the impossibility to count with proper engineering knowledge, leading to the impossibility, or at least the difficulty, for engineering to own a proper body of knowledge and the rational possibility of doctoral studies in engineering. The main concern in this research is to state a conceptual definition of engineering enough strong that serves as a building block for ontological and epistemological research in philosophy of engineering. It is shown that science and engineering pursue different objectives and produces different results. Therefore, it is possible to make a distinction between one and the other. In this dissertation, epistemological elements of engineering are set apart from ontological elements that compose the concept of engineering to emphasize its nature and the genuine possibility to produce new knowledge of engineering independent of scientific knowledge. However, it is also recognized that even methodologically different, science and engineering are intertwined and interdependent, therefore scientific knowledge does not necessarily precede engineering knowledge. Consequently, there is no hierarchical relationship between science and engineering.
| Published in | International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 10, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12 |
| Page(s) | 130-137 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Philosophy of Engineering, Definition of Engineering, Epistemology of Engineering, Engineering Knowledge
| [1] | ABET – Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (2022). https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2020-2021/ |
| [2] | Aslaksen, E. W. (2018). An engineer’s approach to the philosophy of engineering. In Philosophy of engineering, east and west (pp. 85-93). Springer, Cham. |
| [3] | Britton, R., Ruth, D., Topping, A., Friesen, M., Degagne, W., & MacLeod, G. (2016). The Engineering Design Process: An “Engineering Philosophy” Course at the Graduate Level. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA). |
| [4] | Beltrones, David Alfaro Siqueiros (2022). "A Caveat for Science Students on the Misuse of the Term Observation When Referring to Scientific Observation." International Journal of Philosophy, 10 (4), 122-125. |
| [5] | Bucciarelli, L. (2003). Engineering philosophy. DUP Satellite; an imprint of Delft University Press. |
| [6] | Bunge M. (1985). Epistemología: curso de actualización (1a ed.). Ariel. |
| [7] | Burrus, C. S. (2006). What is Engineering. Connexions Web site. http://cnx. org/content/m13680/1.2/,Jul. |
| [8] | Bush, V. (1945). Science, the endless frontier. In Science, the Endless Frontier. Princeton University Press. |
| [9] | Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (1993). The Globe and Mail, May 29, 1993. |
| [10] | Darroch, J., & McNaughton, R. (2002). Examining the link between knowledge management practices and types of innovation. Journal of intellectual capital. |
| [11] | De Vries, M. J. (2009). Engineering science as a “discipline of the particular”? Types of generalization in engineering sciences. In Philosophy and Engineering: (pp. 83-93). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [12] | Didier, C. (2009). Professional ethics without a profession: A French view on engineering ethics. In Philosophy and Engineering: (pp. 161-173). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [13] | Downey, G. (2005). Are engineers losing control of technology? From ‘problem solving’ to ‘problem definition and solution’ in engineering education. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 83 (6), 583-595. |
| [14] | El-Zein, A. H., & Hedemann, C. (2013). Engineers as problem solvers: A deficient self-definition for the 21st century. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development. |
| [15] | El-Zein, A. H., & Hedemann, C. (2016). Beyond problem solving: Engineering and the public good in the 21st century. Journal of cleaner production, 137, 692-700. |
| [16] | Figueiredo, A. D. D. (2008, November). Toward an epistemology of engineering. In 2008 Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering. The Royal Academy of Engineering, London. |
| [17] | Goldman, S. L. (2004). Why we need a philosophy of engineering: a work in progress. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 29 (2), 163-176. |
| [18] | Goldman, S. L. (2017). Compromised exactness and the rationality of engineering. Social Systems Engineering: The Design of Complexity, 11-30. |
| [19] | Goris, T. V., & Dyrenfurth, M. J. (2012). Concepts and misconceptions in engineering, technology and science. Overview of research literature. In Proc. amer. soc. eng. educ. il/in sectional conf. |
| [20] | Gorman, M. E. (2002). Types of knowledge and their roles in technology transfer. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 27 (3), 219-231. |
| [21] | Hiko, A. M. (2020). Is Science Rational: Critical Analysis on Thomas Kuhn’s Objectivity, Value Judgment and Theory Choice and Harvey Siegel’s Inquiry Concerning the Rationality of Science. International Journal of Philosophy, 8 (3), 61. |
| [22] | Howarth, D. (2004). Is Law a Humanity: (Or Is It More Like Engineering)? Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 3 (1), 9-28. |
| [23] | Howarth, D. (2013). Law as engineering: thinking about what lawyers do. Edward Elgar Publishing. |
| [24] | Koen, B. V. (1985). Definition of the Engineering Method. ASEE Publications, Suite 200, 11 Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20036. |
| [25] | Koen, B. V. (1988). Toward a definition of the engineering method. European Journal of Engineering Education, 13 (3), 307-315. |
| [26] | Koen, B. V. “Debunking Contemporary Myths Concerning Engineering” (2013). Philosophy and Engineering: Reflections on Practice, Principles and Process. Dordrecht: Springer, p. 115-137. |
| [27] | Lerch, C., & Dmitruk, A. E. (2017). Acerca de la Formación de los Ingenieros para el Nuevo Siglo. In Grinsztajn, F., Imperiale, M. & Autoridades UNLAM, Enseñanza de la Ingeniería Hacia un Modelo Pedagógico Transformador 125. Universidad Nacional de la Matanza, San Justo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. |
| [28] | Leydesdorff, L. (2006). The knowledge-based economy and the triple helix model. Universal Publishers. Boca Raton, FLA. |
| [29] | Lopez-Cruz, O (2006). Trabajador, trabajo y sociedad. Una relación que se complejiza en la interacción. In Journal of Technology 5 (2), p. 59-77. |
| [30] | Lopez-Cruz, O. (2018). Por qué historia y filosofía en las carreras de ingeniería, Hojas de El Bosque, 4: 7, p. 61-67. |
| [31] | Lopez-Cruz, O. (2020). From philosophy of technology to philosophy of engineering. Revista Colombiana de Filosofía de la Ciencia, 20 (41), 63-111. |
| [32] | Luegenbiehl, H. C. (2009). Ethical principles for engineers in a global environment. In Philosophy and Engineering: (pp. 147-159). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [33] | McCarthy, N., (2006). “Philosophy in the Making”, Ingenia, issue 26, March, 2006; 47-51. |
| [34] | McCarthy, N. (2007). What use is philosophy of engineering? Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 32: 4, 320-325, DOI: 10.1179/030801807X211847. |
| [35] | Nonaka, ikujirō, and Hirotaka Takeuchi, (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation? New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. |
| [36] | Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (2007). The knowledge-creating company. Harvard business review, 85 (7/8), 162. |
| [37] | Olaya, C. (2013). Más ingeniería y menos ciencia por favor. In XI Congreso Latinoamericano de Dinámica de Sistemas, Monterrey, México. |
| [38] | Ottens, M. M. (2009). Limits to systems engineering. In Philosophy and Engineering: (pp. 109-122). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [39] | Pennance, P. (2002). Mathematics Standards of the Puerto Rico Department of Education: Analysis and Recommendations. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Puerto Rico. |
| [40] | Pitt, J. C. (2011). What engineers know. In Doing Philosophy of Technology (pp. 165-174). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [41] | Pollock, M. R. (2009). What Is Engineering? History and Philosophy of Engineering Education. http://meaganross.com/mr/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mross_20091105_whatis_eng_defn.pdf. |
| [42] | Rahman, M. M. (2021). Understanding Science and Preventing It from Becoming Pseudoscience. International Journal of Philosophy, 9 (3), 127-135. |
| [43] | Ramsden, J. (2012). The differences between engineering and science. Measurement and Control, 45 (5), 145-146. |
| [44] | Ropohl, G. (1997). Knowledge types in technology. In Shaping concepts of technology (pp. 65-72). Springer, Dordrecht. |
| [45] | Ross, A., & Athanassoulis, N. (2010). The social nature of engineering and its implications for risk taking. Science and Engineering Ethics, 16 (1), 147-168. |
| [46] | Schmidt, J. A. (2012). What makes engineering, engineering? In Structures Congress 2012 (pp. 1160-1168). |
| [47] | Simon, H. A. (2019). The Sciences of the Artificial, reissue of the third edition with a new introduction by John Laird. MIT press. |
| [48] | Solomon, K. O., Medin, D. L., & Lynch, E. (1999). Concepts do more than categorize. Trends in cognitive sciences, 3 (3), 99-105. |
| [49] | Sowa J. F. (2000). Knowledge representation: logical philosophical and computational foundations. Brooks/Cole. |
| [50] | Streveler, R. A., Litzinger, T. A., Miller, R. L., and Steif, P. S (2008). Learning Conceptual Knowledge in the Engineering Sciences: Overview and Future Research Directions. Journal of Engineering Education, v. 97, no. 3 (July 2008, pp. 279- 294). |
| [51] | Tödtling, F., Lehner, P., & Kaufmann, A. (2009). Do different types of innovation rely on specific kinds of knowledge interactions? Technovation, 29 (1), 59-71. |
| [52] | Vincenti W. G. (1997). What engineers know and how they know it: analytical studies from aeronautical history (3. Nachdr). Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. |
APA Style
Orlando Lopez-Cruz. (2022). An Essential Definition of Engineering to Support Engineering Research in the Twenty-First Century. International Journal of Philosophy, 10(4), 130-137. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12
ACS Style
Orlando Lopez-Cruz. An Essential Definition of Engineering to Support Engineering Research in the Twenty-First Century. Int. J. Philos. 2022, 10(4), 130-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12
AMA Style
Orlando Lopez-Cruz. An Essential Definition of Engineering to Support Engineering Research in the Twenty-First Century. Int J Philos. 2022;10(4):130-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12,
author = {Orlando Lopez-Cruz},
title = {An Essential Definition of Engineering to Support Engineering Research in the Twenty-First Century},
journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
volume = {10},
number = {4},
pages = {130-137},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20221004.12},
abstract = {The concept of engineering is problematic. Despite of the ancient practices of engineering, may be as old as humanity, engineering recently appeared as an academic discipline: engineering studies in universities can be traced back to the nineteenth century. Engineering has been defined as a practice, a process, a profession, and the application of scientific knowledge. However, if engineering is the application of scientific knowledge, there is a tacit assertion of the impossibility to count with proper engineering knowledge, leading to the impossibility, or at least the difficulty, for engineering to own a proper body of knowledge and the rational possibility of doctoral studies in engineering. The main concern in this research is to state a conceptual definition of engineering enough strong that serves as a building block for ontological and epistemological research in philosophy of engineering. It is shown that science and engineering pursue different objectives and produces different results. Therefore, it is possible to make a distinction between one and the other. In this dissertation, epistemological elements of engineering are set apart from ontological elements that compose the concept of engineering to emphasize its nature and the genuine possibility to produce new knowledge of engineering independent of scientific knowledge. However, it is also recognized that even methodologically different, science and engineering are intertwined and interdependent, therefore scientific knowledge does not necessarily precede engineering knowledge. Consequently, there is no hierarchical relationship between science and engineering.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - An Essential Definition of Engineering to Support Engineering Research in the Twenty-First Century AU - Orlando Lopez-Cruz Y1 - 2022/11/29 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12 T2 - International Journal of Philosophy JF - International Journal of Philosophy JO - International Journal of Philosophy SP - 130 EP - 137 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7455 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20221004.12 AB - The concept of engineering is problematic. Despite of the ancient practices of engineering, may be as old as humanity, engineering recently appeared as an academic discipline: engineering studies in universities can be traced back to the nineteenth century. Engineering has been defined as a practice, a process, a profession, and the application of scientific knowledge. However, if engineering is the application of scientific knowledge, there is a tacit assertion of the impossibility to count with proper engineering knowledge, leading to the impossibility, or at least the difficulty, for engineering to own a proper body of knowledge and the rational possibility of doctoral studies in engineering. The main concern in this research is to state a conceptual definition of engineering enough strong that serves as a building block for ontological and epistemological research in philosophy of engineering. It is shown that science and engineering pursue different objectives and produces different results. Therefore, it is possible to make a distinction between one and the other. In this dissertation, epistemological elements of engineering are set apart from ontological elements that compose the concept of engineering to emphasize its nature and the genuine possibility to produce new knowledge of engineering independent of scientific knowledge. However, it is also recognized that even methodologically different, science and engineering are intertwined and interdependent, therefore scientific knowledge does not necessarily precede engineering knowledge. Consequently, there is no hierarchical relationship between science and engineering. VL - 10 IS - 4 ER -
Information
Email: