Philosophy of Technology as Empirical Philosophy: Comparing Technological Scales in Practice

Abstract

Throughout its history, science and technology studies (STS) have been inspired by continental philosophy in various guises. In this essay we argue that inspiration does not have to be one-way but that philosophy might likewise learn from STS. Engaging philosophy through STS enables us to develop the notion of empirical philosophy proposed by STS scholar Annemarie Mol (2002). Empirical philosophy takes seriously the ways in which actors deal in practice with what are usually considered philosophical concerns: what is good, what is right, what is true, and so on. Thus John Law and Annemarie Mol have argued that: Most everyday practices make use of, or try to create, scales to measure or contrast ‘goods’ and ‘bads’. This opens a space for an empirical philosophy. An ethnographic interest in practice can be combined with a philosophical concern with ‘the good’ to explore which ‘good/bad’ scale is being enacted, and how this is being done. (Law and Mol, 2002, p. 85)