Abstract
Engineering is understood as a profession that involves a formative process, through which the conditions that allow the recognition of its phenomenal field and the ways to approach it are generated. The epistemological basis of the current formative process is largely conditioned by the notion of qualified problem solving. However, more than addressing the problems in all their openness, the epistemological basis promoted by this perspective does not allow to easily incorporate the variability and dynamics of the social and cultural processes that go along with their phenomena. The cause of such difficulty may be in the previous structuring of engineering problems based on a given field of solutions strongly based on the natural sciences. In this condition, problems are not dealt with to the full extent that are proper to them. In this article it is argued that problems reside in an open problematic field and that Engineering operates to extract from it the reality from the field of solutions. In this sense, an Engineering perspective is proposed that open up its meaning for educational purposes from the contributions of the philosophy of technology and engineering, in order to promote a subtle shift in the epistemological basis of the engineers education towards a privileged openness of the problematic field where the problems reside. For this, conceptual operators extracted from the thought of Gilbert Simondon and Gilles Deleuze are used so that the concept of Engineering can be built on a broader and more flexible basis. The proposal is to place Engineering in the process of individuation or updating a problematic field that is always open.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Based on this principle, Simondon explains the different modes of individuation of biological, psychic, collective and technical beings.
- 3.
Cf. “[…] engineering is what engineers do in their capacity as engineers” (Poel, 2010: 3).
References
Aravena-Reyes, J. (2018). Métis: Reconfiguring the philosophy of engineering. In A. Fritzsche & J. Sascha (Eds.), The future of engineering (pp. 123–136). Springer.
Aristotle. (2015). Metaphysics. Brazilian edition: Metafísica (E. Bini, Trans.). Edições Profissionais Ltda ICE.
Blockley, D. (2012). Engineering: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Blok, V., et al. (2016). A new planetary orientation for philosophy of technology in the anthropocene?. Call for special track at SPT 2017. Darmstadt.
Craia, E. (2002). A problemática Ontológica em Gilles Deleuze. Edunioeste.
Crutzen, P. (2002). Geology of mankind. Nature, 45(3), 23.
Dagnino, R. (2014). Tecnologia social: Contribuições conceituais e metodológicas. Editora Insular.
Deleuze, G. (1994). Difference and repetition. Columbia University Press.
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1991). Qu’est-ce que la Philosophie?. Brazilian edition: (2007). O que é a Filosofia? (B. Prado & A. Muñoz, Trans.). Editora 34.
Foucault, M. (1970). L’ordre du discours. Brazilian edition: (1996). A Ordem do Discurso (L. Sampaio, Trans.). Edições Loyola.
Guattari, F. (1989). Les trois ecologies. Brazilian edition: (2009). As Três Ecologias (M. Bittencourt, Trans.). Papirus Editora.
Jaramillo, D. (2015). Existe una Filosofia de la Ingenieria? Universitas Philosophica, 32(64), 313–328.
Koen, B. (2003). Discussion of the method: Conducing the engineer’s approach to problem solving. Oxford University Press.
Koen, B. (2013). Debunking contemporary myths concerning engineering. In D. Michelfelder, N. McCarthy, & D. Goldberg (Eds.), Philosophy and engineering: Reflections on practice, principles and process (pp. 115–137). Springer.
Mitcham, C. (1994). Thinking through technology: The path between engineering and philosophy?. (C. Nieto & R. Stingl, Trans.). The University of Chicago Press.
Mitcham, C. (2021). What is engineering. In D. Michelfelder & N. Doorn (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of the philosophy of engineering (e-book). Routledege.
Poel, I. (2010). Philosophy and engineering: Setting the stage. In I. Van de Poel & D. Goldberg (Eds.), Philosophy and engineering: An emerging agenda (pp. 1–14). Springer.
Rifkin, J. (2009). The empathic civilization. Spanish edition: (2010). La Civilización Empática (G. Barberán & V. Casanova, Trans.). Ediciones Paidós.
Simondon, G. (1958a). L’Individuation à la Lumière des Notions de Forme et d’Information. English Edition: (2020). Individuation in light of notions of form and information (T. Adkins, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press.
Simondon, G. (1958b). Du mode d’existence des objets techniques. Spanish edition: (2007). El Modo de Existencia de los Objetos Técnicos (M. Martinez & P. Rodriguez, Trans.). Editorial Cactus, La Cebra Editores.
Simondon, G. (2006). Cours Sur la perception. Spanish edition: (2014). Curso Sobre la Percepción (1964–1965) (P. Ires, Trans.). Editorial Cactus.
Simondon, G. (2008). Imagination et invention. Spanish edition: (2013). Imaginación e Invención (1965–1966) (P. Ires, Trans.). Editorial Cactus.
Sloterdijk, P. (1998). Sphärem. Spanish edition: (2015). Esferas I (I. Reguera, Trans.). Siruela.
Stiegler, B. (2009). Pour une nouvelle critique de l’économie politique. Spanish edition: (2017). Por una Nueva Crítica de la Economía Política (M. Martinez, Trans.). Editora Capital Intelectual.
Stiegler, B. (2020). Bifurquer: il n’y a pas d’alternative. English edition: (2021). Bifurcate: There is no alternative (D. Ross, Trans.). Open Humanity Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Aravena-Reyes, J. (2023). A Simondon-Deleuzean Characterization of Engineering Design. In: Fritzsche, A., Santa-María, A. (eds) Rethinking Technology and Engineering. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25233-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25233-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-25232-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-25233-4
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)