Research Group on the “Center for Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Ethics

Research Center for Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Ethics in the Institute of Philosophy of Russian Academy of Sciences

Head of the Group – Professor Vitaly G. Corokhov, DSc in Philosophy, IPhRAS Distinguished Research Fellow

Main goals of the Center are the investigation of the problems of the history and epistemology, philosophy of technology, especially engineering, engineering science, technoscience and design methodology, analysis of the relationships of the philosophy of science and technology with history of science and technology. Special place in these investigations have periods of the scientific and technological revolutions: first of all, the origin of engineering and experimental natural science in European Renaissance and New Time, its relationship sciences and society, inter-disciplinary organization of science and engineering, development of the engineering sciences and scientific engineering education, the modern stage of the scientific and technological revolution connected with the development of technoscience and knowledge society. New technologies can raise not only positive consequences, but also new frequently negative social issues and ethical problems. One of the main tasks of the philosophy and history of science and technology is critical philosophical-historical reflexion of the problems and recognition of the ethical implications of the scientific and engineering work with the application in the sphere of scientific and engineering education and technology assessment within society.

Research Areasand tasks:

1. Philosophical and epistemological problems of the history of science and technology

2. Historical epistemology of science and engineering, especially in New Time

3. Philosophy of technology and engineering knowledge, methodological problems of engineering sciences and modern technoscience

4. Science – technology – society, technology and culture, global problems of the sustainable development

5. Information society and knowledge society, epistemological analysis of the computer revolution, philosophical problems of the artificial intelligence

6. Philosophical and methodological problems of the modern nano-, bio, information- and cognitive technologies, their connections with social technologies and experimental psychology

7. Methodology of the scientific construction and design methodology, constructive epistemology in science and technology, methodology of systems engineering, systems design and systems management

8. Engineering ethics and humanistic engineering education, social responsibility of scientists and designers

9. Engineering ethics and the new forms of applied ethics (computer, environmental, business ethics, nanoethics u.a.)

10. Technology assessment, sociology of science and technology

Cooperation partners:

Institute of technology assessment and systems analysis of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Center for Ethics and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

International Academy of the Sustainable Development and Technologies at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany

Volga State University of Technology, Yoshkar-Ola, Russia

Staff:

Prof. Dr. V. Gorokhov (chief), Prof. Dr. V. Rosin, Dr. I. Alekseeva, Dr. D. Stebakov, M. Burgute Ayala, Prof. Dr. H. Lenk (Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Prof. Dr. G. Bechmann (Professor of the philosophical faculty of the Moscow State University)

Head of the Group – Prof. Dr. Vitaly G. Gorokhov

Staff