What is modern philosophy of technoscience capable of?

Abstract

The first article of this research series discussed the critical issues involved in apprehension of the present-day agenda in geomechanics. The current perception is that the mining science needs deeplaid and long-term solutions to go with the up-to-date expectations. This article continues debating on feasible interaction between the technoscience (geosciences, in particular) and the philosophy of science. A brief description of history of the science philosophy is given. Traditional philosophy proclaims privilege of theory over practice, while metaphysical rationalization goes along a specific path in Russia. Technological practices complicate and get beyond control of simplified theoretical models. Science is progressing and advancing, and gives rise to increasingly more areas of research, locking the mankind out of hope to compose all twists and turns into a single and uniform pattern. Scientists have come to an idea that the unity of numerous domains of prodigious and diverse science rests upon the fact that researchers operate the same rules, i.e. use the same ‘scientific method’. Researchers and engineers concerned with the challenges of technosciences have a philosophical choice: either to use one of the existing metaphysical schemes while understanding its unprovability and choosing it because of habit and mental comfort; or to let philosophers rethink their metaphysical approaches and to handle specific problems in each specific case by trial and error. Intercommunion of scientists, engineers and philosophers is illustrated. The conclusion is drawn that the scopes and modes of such interaction can only be found and exposed in progress of teamworking.