Essays in Post-Critical Philosophy of Technology

Mihály Héder · Eszter Nádasi

iyn, 2019 · Vernon Press

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Technology, in all its forms, has had and continues to have an indisputable impact on society and culture. Philosophy of technology seeks to understand this impact and the meaning of technology for society and culture. Although its origins can be traced back to the Greeks, it wasn’t until the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century that it gained ground as a philosophical discipline. Now more than ever it is considered an essential philosophical enterprise. 

‘The Budapest Workshop on Philosophy of Technology’ was a lively and successful event that sought to discuss, reflect on and apply this branch of philosophical inquiry to both historical and contemporary examples. Importantly, the contributors’ methodological approaches were influenced by, although not limited to, Michael Polanyi’s term ‘post-critical’. Moving beyond the rigidity of past approaches, the selected essays were driven by two lines of inquiry, what has been the historical role of technology in social and scientific change? And, how can a ‘post-critical’ approach enhance and extend our understanding of philosophy of technology?

This edited volume begins by exploring the role of technology in social and scientific developments from a historical perspective, before moving towards a discussion of philosophy of technology from a ‘Post-Critical’ epistemic stance. Free from the constraints of previous methodologies, the third part of this work engages with the term ‘Post-Critical’ in its broadest sense. The contributors to this section consider the phenomenology of the body and the influence of technology on our lives. Finally, the four concluding chapters of this book apply this philosophical approach to a wide range of contemporary problems from Decision Support Systems to Crisis Communication.

Muallif haqida

Dr. Mihály Héder, PhD, graduated as a software engineer from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 2009. In the interest of broadening his horizons, in 2014 he completed a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science. As an Associate Professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), Mihály teaches Research Methodology, Science and Technology Studies, Economics, and Philosophy of Technology. He was awarded distinguished lecturer for the 2014/15 academic year. Notably, Mihály is also engaged in researching the power of humanities for people with a STEM background.

Eszter Nádasi is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Communication at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE). Since 2014 Eszter has given classes in both the Department of Sociology and Communication and in the Department of Philosophy and History of Science. According to the “Education Quality Survey” (OHV), she was among the 100 best teachers at BUTE in 2016-2017. In 2016 she finished her studies at the BUTE Doctoral School of Philosophy and History of Science, during which time she also earned two fellowships with the Julius Rézler Foundation. As well as a career as an academic, Eszter has also worked for several prestigious magazines and has received awards for her journalism from the Tamás Szegő Foundation in 2012 and 2017, respectively.