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The Amerindian Buen Vivir as a Paradigm for Another Possible Engineering Practice and Education
Abstract
This chapter intends to reflect on the engineering practice and education from a Global South’s perspective, its relationships with grassroots social processes, and the transitions towards the Amerindian Buen Vivir, as opposed to the hegemonic colonial model of engineering from the North and its imperative of satisfying the market’s needs. This way, after a quick presentation of some aspects of both hegemonic and alternative/counter-hegemonic engineering practice and education panoramas (introduction), such panoramas are described in the decolonial theory’s terms (Sect. 23.2), and Buen Vivir’s central elements are sketched (Sect. 23.3). Then, two case studies from Colombia are described (Sect. 23.4), the specificities of this engineering training and practice are highlighted and systematized/theorized, and some of their disruptive potentialities are singled out (Sect. 23.5). In the final section, two main challenges of decolonial or counter-hegemonic engineering practice and education in general, and for the Buen Vivir, in particular, are briefly introduced: institutionalization and evaluation.Keywords
Buen Vivir
Decolonial theoryEngineering practiceEngineering educationColombia
... Also, this methodology leaves the epistemological framework of Western science, and values other experiences and knowledge. In addition, the most important thing is that the pedagogical process does not remain in a simple characterization of the problems, but goes beyond, designing and building technological solutions, both appropriate and low cost, benefiting a community, including it in the different phases of the projects and not in an instrumental way (Cruz, Ochoa-Duarte & León, 2023). ...
This document describes the successful experience of a rainwater potabilization system developed within the framework of the PEAMA Sumapaz program of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogotá. This system was developed at the Colegio Nuevo Horizonte sede D Torca, located in the rural area of Usaquén, Bogotá, through the practical application of concepts such as approached technologies, social appropriation of technology, socio-technical adequacy, Humanitarian Engineering and Engaged Engineering, through the methodology of Problem and Project Based Learning. This project was carried out during the second semester of 2022 and the whole 2023, in an interdisciplinary way, with the participation of students of economics, mechatronic engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and agronomic engineering, who put into practice the knowledge acquired in the subjects they were taking at that time, and with the support of experts in the corresponding topics. The rainwater potabilization system was installed in the school, meets the physicochemical and microbiological parameters for human consumption and is functional, managed by students from the school and PEAMA Sumapaz, who were given the corresponding training. However, it continues to be improved and made more complex by the students who participated in its development, as well as by other PEAMA students and members of the school community.
... Esto es posible a través de metodologías de co-creación que les permitan aportar sus conocimientos a los diversos procesos. Adicionalmente, la inter y transdisciplinariedad de los proyectos que se realizan desde una perspectiva comprometida involucra un diálogo de saberes constante, de manera que se aporte a la transformación de la sociedad y la construcción de Buen Vivir [39]. ...
For a long time, the predominant paradigm in engineering has been inactive and discriminatory towards the needs of marginalized communities. However, there are a variety of proposals, practices and experiences that challenge this approach.Organizations in various parts of the world have developed proposals that value the social meaning of engineering and seek a new way of teaching and practice.Humanitarian engineering, peace-building engineering and popular engineering are some of the concepts that have been created and are grouped under the term Engaged Engineering.These new practices seek to transform the ethical foundations of hegemonic engineering and its relationship with nature, human beings and society. This approach is related to alternatives to development, such as Buen Vivir.This article analyzes and explains the characteristics of Engaged Engineering through the systematization of experiences,especially in development projects and educational approaches focused on social transformation. It also examines possible relationships between these engineering and the transition processes towards Buen Vivir in Latin America, in order to explore alternatives to the predominant paradigm in engineering.
La editorial "Contracorrientes para el Buen Vivir: Explorando el pluriverso de las ingenierías" de esta edición de la revista presenta una crítica a la ingeniería contemporánea, la cual se ha enfocado en la eficiencia y ha estado desconectada de su entorno, exacerbando desigualdades sociales y alterando ciclos naturales. A través de una serie de entrevistas, artículos, reseñas y cuentos, se exploran alternativas que buscan rediseñar la tecnología y la ingeniería para que respondan a las necesidades locales y mejoren las condiciones de vida de las comunidades. Se destaca la importancia de la interdisciplinariedad, la ética y la solidaridad en la práctica de la ingeniería, proponiendo un enfoque que priorice el Buen Vivir y la justicia social en un contexto global marcado por el consumismo y el cambio climático. La edición también incluye una entrevista con el profesor John Kleba, quien discute el papel de la ingeniería hegemónica y su impacto en las comunidades desfavorecidas.
The decolonial theory understands that Western Modernity keeps imposing itself through a triple mutually reinforcing and shaping imprisonment: coloniality of power, coloniality of knowledge, and coloniality of being. Technical design has an essential role in either maintaining or overcoming coloniality. In this article, two main approaches to decolonizing the technical design are presented. First is Yuk Hui's and Ahmed Ansari's proposals that, revisiting or recovering the different histories and philosophies of technology produced by humankind, intend to decolonize the minds of philosophers and engineers/architects/designers as a precondition for such decolonial designs to take place. I call them top-down approaches. Second is some technical design initiatives that, being developed alongside marginalized/sub-alternate people, intend to co-construct decolonial sociotechnical solutions through a committed, decolonizing, and careful dialog of knowledge. I call them bottom-up approaches. Once that is done, the article's second half derives ontological, epis-temological, and political consequences from the conjugation of top-down and bottom-up approaches. Such consequences challenge some established or not yet entirely overcome understandings in the philosophy of technology (PT) and, in so doing, are meant to represent some steps in PT's decolonization. Even though both top-down and bottom-up approaches are considered, the article's main contributions are associated with (bottom-up) decolonial technical design practices, whose methodologies and outcomes are important study cases for PT and whose practitioners (i.e., decolonial designers) can be taken as inspiring examples for philosophers who want to decolonize/enlarge PT or make it decolonial (that is, a way of fostering decoloniality).
A ideia desta trilogia sobre "engenharia e outras práticas técnicas engajadas" surge da nossa constatação acerca da falta de publicações na área, juntamente com a imensa riqueza das experiências e das questões de pesquisa a serem exploradas nela. Nas duas últimas décadas, houve uma considerável ampliação na quantidade de movimentos, universidades, redes, organizações, iniciativas e cursos de engenharia atuando junto a comunidades carentes com vistas à transformação social (contra injustiças, desigualdade etc.), o que nos convida a repensar a relação entre tecnologia e sociedade.
Chamamos esse movimento geral de "engenharia engajada", que combina o ativismo de intervenções sociais concretas com mudanças na formação em engenharia e nos projetos tecnológicos. Essa discussão está intimamente relacionada com a tradição crítica dos estudos de Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS) e a filosofia da tecnologia.
Tendo começado como um projeto latino-americano, acabamos por incluir casos também dos Estados Unidos, de modo a apreender uma maior diversidade do campo. Com isso, o projeto se tornou trilíngue e todos os capítulos apresentam resumo em português, espanhol e inglês.
Este primeiro volume da trilogia traz redes, organizações da sociedade civil e coletivos, sendo as/os autoras/es as/os próprias/os protagonistas dessas iniciativas. No segundo volume, o foco é em programas acadêmicos de formação-intervenção. O terceiro volume explora diálogos interdisciplinares e descoloniais, assim como novas questões que têm emergido na área.
Para este primeiro volume, propusemos às/aos autoras/es um conjunto de questões não obrigatórias, que tinha a intenção de possibilitar um diálogo crítico entre os diferentes capítulos: qual tipo de transformação social e política é buscado? Qual é o papel da tecnologia nas intervenções desenvolvidas? Quais metodologias e modos de participação são adotados no trabalho com os grupos apoiados/parceiros? Quais práticas avaliativas são usadas e o que elas mostram?
Além disso, buscamos um amplo leque de diversidades ao planejarmos este volume, incluindo os países em que as iniciativas são praticadas (Argentina, Brasil, Colômbia e Estados Unidos), suas formas organizacionais (redes, organizações da sociedade civil, coletivos e núcleos de pesquisa), seus tamanhos (com milhares de membros ou bem pequenas, mas únicas), as áreas profissionais a que elas se filiam (engenharia e arquitetura), os conjuntos de ideias que as embasam e suas áreas de atuação (Internet, habitação, criações técnicas de agricultoras/es familiares e muito mais).
Por fim, esperamos que esta trilogia contribua para o avanço do conhecimento em territórios ainda desconhecidos, estimulando o debate e o diálogo, e reforçando nossa pesquisa engajada e nossas redes de intervenção.
Valores estéticos, acerVos imagéticos e procedimentos estruturados: ampliando e descolonizando a reflexão filosófica sobre a tecnologia Cristiano Cordeiro Cruz 1 RESUMO. Desde os anos 1980, reconhecem-se como partes constitutivas da tecnologia e do seu desenvolvimento o conhecimento técnico-científico e os valores instrumentais e cognitivos que balizam tal conhecimento, bem como valores ético-políticos. No entanto, segue grandemente negligenciada ou desconhecida uma quarta categoria de elementos que incidem no projeto: acervos imagéticos, valores estéticos e procedimentos estruturados. A desconsideração desses elementos impõe limites ao desenvolvimento técnico possível. Neste artigo, serão apresentados essa quarta categoria de elementos, o impacto dela sobre a prática projetiva e as soluções sociotécnicas construídas, e uma forma de pluralizar seus conteúdos. Será exposto também um esboço de duas das abordagens mais exitosas para a democratização do desenvolvimento técnico. A partir disso, serão discutidos: alguns limites e potencialidades da democratização da tecnologia; uma atualização de parte da compreensão simondoniana de desenvolvimento técnico; a necessidade teórica e prática de se descolonizar (ou seguir descolonizando) a filosofia da tecnologia. Palavras-chave: Valores estéticos. Acervos imagéticos. Procedimentos estruturados. Democratização. Descolonização. introdução Desde a década de 1980, estudos sociológicos, históricos e filosóficos vêm revelando a tecnologia, em sua forma material ou imaterial, como construção para a qual são insuficientes valores instrumentais (como eficiência, eficácia, robustez, durabilidade etc.) e cognitivos (como precisão, capacidade preditiva, coerência, consistência etc.). Com efeito, considerando-se apenas tais valores, seria impossível proceder-se à escolha da solução técnica final, dentre as múltiplas opções disponíveis ou passíveis de serem desenvolvidas para ela.
Este trabajo presenta un análisis descriptivo de tres proyectos de extensión universitaria en el área de STEAM, a la luz de los Objetivos del Buen Vivir. Para ello se discute el rol de la universidad en la sociedad, tanto desde la visión hegemónica como algunas propuestas alternativas en el Sur Global. Se exponen, adicionalmente, las diferentes dimensiones STEAM y cómo se pueden articular a la idea de Buen Vivir. Se describen modelos de extensión universitaria, y se enfoca en la extensión solidaria de la
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, bajo la cual los proyectos estudiados fueron realizados con comunidades rurales y urbanas. Si bien éstos no se realizaron basados en el Sumak Kawsay, al ser pensados, diseñados y ejecutados desde una postura crítica transformadora, el análisis es posible y compatible. Se concluye que es viable gestar y ejecutar procesos STEAM de extensión dentro una academia en contravía a la lógica del mercado imperante, generando alternativas concretas y diversas al desarrollo.
Los fines misionales de las universidades incluyen la docencia, la investigación y la proyección social con la comunidad. Dichos ejes generalmente se consideran de manera aislada. Sin embargo, es posible realizar procesos de praxis basados en pedagogías para la liberación y metodologías participativas, como el semillero de investigación-acción PARES (Proceso de Acción y Reflexión en el Entorno Social), que permiten integrar estos fines misionales a la vez que aportan en la labor de acercar la universidad a las comunidades, mediante la participación de estudiantes y profesores en una diversidad de proyectos. Estos van desde el uso y apropiación de tecnologías de bajo costo, la creación de ideas basadas en economías solidarias, la construcción de paz, la generación de energía eléctrica a través de fuentes alternativas, el fortalecimiento de espacios sociales y colectivos que involucran prácticas agroecológicas enfocadas en la soberanía y la autonomía de las comunidades y la creación de una emisora comunitaria, en diferentes territorios que incluyen, pero no se limitan a, la vereda Puerto Matilde, en Antioquia y el Espacio Territorial para la Capacitación y Reincorporación (ETCR) Antonio Nariño, en Tolima.
Este documento presenta una serie de experiencias, vivencias, aprendizajes, reflexiones y críticas que se han originado en el quehacer de PARES con los objetivos de socializar el proceso y hacer síntesis de la praxis en la investigación-acción, no sólo desde la cademia, sino desde las mismas comunidades donde se realizan proyectos.
En este artículo realizamos, por medio de la técnica de la différance, una deconstrucción de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), con el fin de identificar las principales incongruencias de los ODS respecto de su propósito de contribuir a la mejora del bienestar de la humanidad, desde el punto de vista del transdesarrollo transmoderno, entendiendo este como aquella forma de vida que nos permita a los seres humanos coexistir en armonía con los demás seres de la naturaleza, con los demás seres humanos y con nosotros mismos y nosotras mismas. De dicho análisis hemos concluido que el desarrollo implícito en los ODS es realmente un modelo de maldesarrollo insostenible,
sustentado en la colonialidad-patriarcalidad-heteronormalidad del poder-saber-ser, en el capitalismo y en el antropocentrismo y que tiene, además, como consecuencias un apartheid global y un modo de vida imperial.
Posteriormente, planteamos que, si el concepto de buen vivir surgió como una alternativa al concepto de desarrollo sostenible, frente a la agenda de la cooperación internacional de los ODS, también debiera elaborarse una agenda global alternativa basada en los Objetivos del Buen Vivir (OBV). Así, a partir de una investigación de carácter normativo, basada en dos grupos de discusión y en una encuesta realizada a expertos, en este epígrafe se recoge una propuesta de OBV, articulada en 3 objetivos generales y 21 específicos. Todos ellos se hallarían encaminados a la consecución de las tres armonías que deben caracterizar al buen vivir global: la sostenibilidad biocéntrica, que reflejaría la armonía con todos los seres de la naturaleza; la equidad social, que plasmaría la
armonía con todos los seres humanos, y la satisfacción personal, que manifestaría la armonía con uno mismo.
The National University of Colombia is the main public university in Colombia (South America), it is a public university with the mission to study and analyze national problems and propose, independently, relevant formulations as well as pertinent solutions to these challenges. In this sense, the Inventiveness, Science, Technology and Society course was created as a space of PBL (Problem Based-Learning) in the Faculty of Engineering in 2014. There are three criteria for its operation, namely: Diversity, as the course is open to all University programs, development of a study and research according to social issues, and finally, prospective in a Post-Conflict scenario for vulnerable communities. In this article we try to summarize the experiences we had, the lessons learned, after a year of its creation.
La cátedra Ingenio, Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad es una materia electiva de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia que se dicta a estudiantes de todas las carreras con el objetivo de brindar herramientas que permitan desarrollar iniciativas de impacto social y plantear alternativas para resolver problemáticas en las que la academia incida de manera pertinente y trabaje en conjunto con las comunidades. La materia surgió como una iniciativa estudiantil del grupo de trabajo Ingenio sin Fronteras, junto con el semillero Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad. Nació como un curso alternativo y llegó a convertirse en una asignatura oficial de la universidad desde 2014. Cada semestre, se invitan académicos, expertos y miembros de comunidades a compartir sus conocimientos y experiencias, priorizando el diálogo de saberes. Además, se desarrollan actividades que permitan a los estudiantes trabajar en un proyecto, con miras a resolver una problemática con implicaciones tecnológicas en una comunidad.
El propósito de este capítulo es identificar, con un enfoque de Economía Política del Desarrollo, los diferentes significados del “buen vivir” latinoamericano y sus diversos manantiales intelectuales. Los autores intentan responder las siguientes preguntas: ¿Cuáles son los diferentes “buenos vivires” que hay detrás de dicho concepto? y ¿cuáles son los manantiales intelectuales de los que han bebido los diversos autores que han escrito sobre el tema? Asimismo, usan las estrategias metodológicas de la deconstrucción y la genealogía del concepto, a partir de una amplia revisión bibliográfica. Ellos concluyen que existen tres diferentes versiones de buen vivir latinoamericano: una indigenista y pachamamista, otra socialista y estatista, y otra ecologista y posdesarrollista. Además, sostienen que existe también una concepción sintética del concepto. Estas versiones están asociadas con diferentes influencias intelectuales, tales como: el sumak kawsay, el suma qamaña y el allin kawsay; la cosmovisión andina; el desarrollo con identidad; la teoría de la reciprocidad; el posdesarrollo; la teología de la liberación; la teoría de la dependencia; la teoría de la colonialidad; el desarrollo sostenible; la teoría del sistema mundial; el desarrollo humano; el desarrollo endógeno; el ecosocialismo; el socialismo del siglo XXI; la justicia social; la economía de la felicidad; la eudaimonía; la economía de los bienes relacionales; la economía social y solidaria; el feminismo intercultural; el feminismo de los cuidados; el ecofeminismo; la economía de autosuficiencia; la economía comunitaria; la economía descalza y a escala humana; la economía budista; el posextractivismo; el decrecimiento; la ecología profunda; y la teoría de la convivialidad.
This article lays out both a critique of the oxymoron ‘sustainable development’, and the potential and nuances of a Post-Development agenda. We present ecological swaraj from India and Degrowth from Europe as two examples of alternatives to development. This gives a hint of the forthcoming book, provisionally titled The Post-Development Dictionary, that is meant to deepen and widen a research, dialogue and action agenda for activists, policymakers and scholars on a variety of worldviews and practices relating to our collective search for an ecologically wise and socially just world. This volume could be one base in the search for alternatives to United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in an attempt to truly transform the world. In fact, it is an agenda towards the pluriverse: ‘a world where many worlds fit’, as the Zapatista say.
Este artículo es la base conceptual del debate sobre la relación 'tecnología-desarrollo' del Programa de investigación "Tecnologías para la Inclusión Social y Políticas Públicas en América latina".
Heidegger's landmark critique of modern technology and its relation to metaphysics has been widely accepted in the East. Yet the conception that there is only one-originally Greek-type of techne has been an obstacle to any original critical thinking of technology in modern Chinese thought. This book argues for the urgency of imagining a specifically Chinese philosophy of technology capable of responding to Heidegger's conception and problematizing the affirmation of technics and technologies as anthropologically universal. Yuk Hui's systematic historical survey of Chinese thought in comparison to the antique philosophy in Europe explains why there is no systematic thinking of technics in Chinese thought. His subsequent investigation of the historical-metaphysical questions of modern technology, drawing on Lyotard, Simondon, and Stiegler, then sheds new light on the obscurity of the question of technology in China. Why has time never been a real question for Chinese philosophy, how has the category of Qi transformed in its relation to Dao in Chinese metaphysical discourse, and how might Chinese thought contribute to a renewed questioning of globalized technics?
Más de 20 años después no se ven mejoras sustanciales respecto a los problemas ambientales en la mayoría de países, por lo cual en este texto quiero demostrar que el desarrollo sostenible ha fracasado y por lo tanto es necesario pensar y buscar alternativas al desarrollo, propuestas que sean capaces de ir más allá del propio desarrollo y no variaciones sobre las mismas racionalidades. Lograr esto no será fácil ya que requiere de cambios epistémicos significativos que posibiliten otras racionalidades y valores de convivencia.
Para justificar esta necesidad de cambio, planteo la siguiente línea argumentativa. Primero, contextualizar y demostrar algunos de los problemas socioambientales actuales apremiantes a nivel mundial, es decir, evidenciar el mundo en el que vivimos actualmente. Segundo, para poder pensar en alternativas al desarrollo resulta importante identificar primero algunas características y premisas fundamentales del desarrollo hegemónico, para evitar caer en estas trampas del desarrollo. Tercero, demostrar algunas de las causas de por qué una de las alternativas de desarrollo, el desarrollo sostenible, ha fracasado, al caer en las trampas del desarrollo. Cuarto, presentar de manera crítica una de las propuestas emergentes en América Latina, que se presenta como alternativa al desarrollo, el buen vivir. Finalmente plantear algunas entradas epistemológicas, que considero necesarias, para comenzar a posibilitar alternativas al desarrollo.
Este artigo debate a emergência da engenharia engajada. A educação em engenharia é tradicionalmente atrelada à indústria e desconhecedora de seu papel social. Nesse contexto, surge um movimento internacional de múltiplas iniciativas advogando mudanças em escolas de engenharia e nas concepções de ensino e extensão. Reconhecendo a atual fragmentação da pesquisa na área, esse artigo destaca problemas teóricos e empíricos para o estudo do fenômeno. As seções incluem um indicativo da pluralidade das iniciativas na área, problemas conceituais da engenharia engajada e seus focos de aplicação, os desafios do design institucional, um breve panorama das novas vertentes pedagógicas e uma reflexão crítica sobre os projetos de extensão. Finalmente, debate-se o papel de ideologias conflituosas nesse campo, e recomenda-se critérios para boas práticas em projetos de extensão tecnosocial.
The following paper addresses the conceptof Transmodernity under two different points of view. On one hand, the view ofRosa María Rodríguez Magda, which portrays the concept of Transmodernity as adialectical triad between Modernity, Postmodernity and Transmodernity, being thelast both continuation and overcoming of Postmodernism. On the other hand, theview of Enrique Dussel, who establishes Transmodernity as a utopian project thatis transverse to modernity/postmodernity. This project is before modernity andtranscends it as well, being a category of externality that seeks to raise the voice ofnon-European-American cultures, in order to establish symmetrical interculturaldialogues that carry features of their own culture immeasurable to the modernEuropean project. This is how we’ll confront both concepts of Transmodernity inorder to highlight its differences and contrapositions.
The present text constitutes the Preface to the second edition Encountering Development (1995). After reviewing both the most important transformations in the world over the past fiffteen years, and the debates in critical development studies during the same period, the author concludes that the time has come to renew the debates on postdevelopment and alternatives to development, as many social movements are actually doing. Given the deepening ecological and social crises, there emerge in undeniable ways discourses about transitions to an other type or society or civilizational model. This transition could move us beyond the modern idea of one Universe –One World under the hegemony of certain conceptions of the individual, rationality, economy, science, and the market—towards a genuine pluriverse of scio-natural worlds. These transitions announce that globalization is not only the last stage of capitalist modernity, but also the beginning of something new.
A Rede de Tecnologia Social (RTS) tem duas características que a diferenciam de outras iniciativas em curso no país, orien-tadas à dimensão científico-tecnológica. A primeira é o marco analítico-conceitual que conforma o que aqui denominamos "tecnologia social" (TS). A segunda é justamente seu caráter de rede. Sem ser excludente àquelas iniciativas, a RTS se arti-cula, em função dessas características, como uma alternativa mais eficaz para a solução dos problemas sociais relacionados a essa dimensão e como um vetor para a adoção de políticas públicas que abordem a relação ciência-tecnologia-sociedade (CTS) num sentido mais coerente com a nossa realidade e com o futuro que a sociedade deseja construir. Este capítulo, escrito por participantes da RTS que se têm dedicado a temas relacionados à TS no plano acadêmico, 1 tem * Professor titular da Universidade de Campinas (Unicamp). * * Assessor do Departamento de Ações Regionais para Inclusão Social da Se-cretaria de Ciência e Tecnologia para Inclusão Social. *** Economista formado pela Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) e mes-trando no Departamento de Política Científica e Tecnológica (DPCT) da Universidade de Campinas (Unicamp). 1 As dissertações de mestrado de dois dos autores – Dagnino (1976) e Bran-dão (2001) – são uns dos poucos esforços de reflexão acadêmica sobre o te-ma realizado no Brasil.
A leading philosopher of technology calls for the democratic coordination of technical rationality with everyday experience.
The technologies, markets, and administrations of today's knowledge society are in crisis. We face recurring disasters in every domain: climate change, energy shortages, economic meltdown. The system is broken, despite everything the technocrats claim to know about science, technology, and economics. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that today powerful technologies have unforeseen effects that disrupt everyday life; the new masters of technology are not restrained by the lessons of experience, and accelerate change to the point where society is in constant turmoil. In Between Reason and Experience, leading philosopher of technology Andrew Feenberg makes a case for the interdependence of reason—scientific knowledge, technical rationality—and experience. Feenberg examines different aspects of the tangled relationship between technology and society from the perspective of critical theory of technology, an approach he has pioneered over the past twenty years. Feenberg points to two examples of democratic interventions into technology: the Internet (in which user initiative has influenced design) and the environmental movement (in which science coordinates with protest and policy). He examines methodological applications of critical theory of technology to the case of the French Minitel computing network and to the relationship between national culture and technology in Japan. Finally, Feenberg considers the philosophies of technology of Heidegger, Habermas, Latour, and Marcuse. The gradual extension of democracy into the technical sphere, Feenberg argues, is one of the great political transformations of our time.
One of the most striking features of the growth of "science studies" in recent years has been the separation of science from technology. Sociological studies of new knowledge in science abound, as do studies of technological innovation, but thus far there has been little attempt to bring such bodies of work together.1 It may well be the case that science and technology are essentially different and that different approaches to their study are warranted. However, until the attempt to treat them within the same analytical endeavor has been undertaken, we cannot be sure of this. It is the contention of this chapter that the study of science and the study of technology should, and indeed can, benefit from each other. In particular we argue that the social constructivist view that is prevalent within the sociology of science and also emerging within the sociology of technology provides a useful starting paint. We set out the constitutive questions that such a unified social constructivist approach must address analytically and empirically. This chapter falls into three main sections. In the first part we outline various strands of argumentation and review bodies of literature that we consider to be relevant to our goals. We then discuss the two specific approaches from which our integrated viewpoint has developed: the "Empirical Programme of Relativism" (Collins 1981d) and a social constructivist approach to the study of technology (Bijker et al. 1984). In the third part we bring these two approaches together and give some empirical examples. We conclude by summarizing our provisional findings and by indicating the directions in which we believe the program can most usefully be pursued. © 2012 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
Eduardo Gudynas looks at the main trends of the discourse around Buen Vivir in South America. He looks at the rich and multiple discourses around Buen Vivir, as a political platform for different visions of alternatives to development. The paradox that development can be declared defunct and yet in the next step promoted as the only way forward is deeply embedded in modern culture. Therefore, any alternative to development must open paths to move beyond the modern Western culture. Buen Vivir, he argues gives that opportunity.
This paper explores how peace engineering initiatives relate to the critique of development in the Latin American context. Development is an essential condition for peace, and structural violence is closely associated with patterns of development. In engineering studies, the critique of development has increased attention, explaining the initiatives towards peace engineering engaged in social transformations. We discuss the evolution of the modern notion of development and argue why we should reject the mantra of neoliberalism. Next, we shift our look to the contributions of the Latin American critique of development, from the historical liberation movements to new concepts such as post-extractivism, solidarity economy, and political ecology. A decolonial view is proposed departing from the 'epistemologies of the South', followed by a review of how science, technology, and innovation relate to specific exclusion forms. Further, an empirical view on peace engineering initiatives in post-conflict Colombia and Brazil is presented, including three streams of how engineering initiatives relate to social change, from the social economy to grassroots movements. Finally, we suggest a few questions for further research in peace engineering and development.
Engineering and technology have a central role in shaping our reality that frequently goes unnoticed or not critically analyzed by engineers and engineering faculty and curricula. In so doing, the engineering that is taught, investigated (and improved), and practiced can unwittingly foster an ethical-political reality with which many engineers and engineering teachers may disagree. In this paper, drawing on literature from philosophy and sociology of technology and Latin-American liberating and decolonial traditions, the theoretical bases for a different engineering practice are set; an engineering committed to empowering people and constructing with them other possible socio-technical orders (and ethical-political realities). It can be called decolonial engineering. Then, grassroots (or popular) engineering, as it is practiced, taught, and improved (investigated) by some Brazilian university extension centres and groups, is presented and analyzed according to its decolonial foundations and outcomes. Finally,from grassroots engineering experience, some general traits of decolonial engineering education and research are derived
The alternative development paradigm, ‘Buen Vivir’, positions community perspectives as the core of its vision. As an alternative to an (anthropocentric) vision it offers an inclusive socio-ecological idea, which regards ‘Mother Earth’ (called Pachamama) as a being with its own rights. This alternative vision puts ecological, socio-cultural, spiritual and political dimensions of an alternative path of development into play and suggests a new ethics of development. Based on the concept of ‘Buen Vivir’, indigenous educational concepts of Higher Education are developing and emerging, applying project-based learning methods. Topics for a sustainability university relate to the fields of water resources, coffee, sustainable nutrition, arts etc., as well as collective decision making, education, etc. In this vision, global solidarity for sustainable development supports ecosystem development and sustainable development. It develops studies in solidarity economy, water sustainability, Fair Trade and sustainable education. The paper begins with critiques and the global search for alternatives (1), and shifts to introduce the ‘Buen Vivir’ approach (2). In a third chapter, the state of the art of alternative and indigenous universities in Latin America will be addressed (3). In the fourth and final chapter, elements of the developmental vision of an intercultural and transcontinental Fair Trade University—the Universidad “Pachamama” will be presented (4).
La intención de este artículo es evidenciar la irrupción del campo de la ingeniería humanitaria (IH) en el marco del conocimiento científico y tecnológico a nivel mundial. Esta es un área de la ingeniería que ha venido desarrollándose desde hace un par de décadas, discutiendo la función de la ingeniería en la solución de las problemáticas de las comunidades vulnerables y marginales (Mitcham y Muñoz, 2010). La ingeniería en su conjunto ha resuelto las necesidades y problemáticas de la sociedad a través de la historia. Sin embargo, sectores de este conjunto de población se han visto marginalizados y excluidos económica, social y tecnológicamente por diversas circunstancias (Mitcham y Muñoz, 2010).
Thorstein Bunde Veblen, known as an American institutional economist and social critic (1857–1929), obtained his Ph.D. degree in philosophy from Yale University in 1884 and critically examined the development of economic institutions and rising internal tensions in modern Western societies throughout his life. In his analysis, modern technology plays a critical role and there is some acknowledgment of the originality of his views. Yet, their analysis is short, sporadic, and anecdotal. With the purpose of filling this void in the extant literature, this study seeks answer to the following questions: Does Veblen offer a philosophy of technology? It is maintained here that Veblen not only elaborates on the essence and properties of the modern technology, but also discusses how it interacts with its broader social economic and political environment. After reviewing the extant literature on Veblen’s account of technology, the essay outlines his approach to technology, which is followed by the reverberations of technology for industrial structure, business enterprise, competition between them, and the state in his writings. The last section discusses the key findings and summarizes them as a way of conclusion.
Engineers will incorporate considerations of social justice issues into their work only to the extent that they see such issues as relevant to the practice of their profession. This chapter argues that two prominent ideologies within the culture of engineering—depoliticization and meritocracy—frame social justice issues in such a way that they seem irrelevant to engineering practice. Depoliticization is the belief that engineering is a “technical” space where “social” or “political” issues such as inequality are tangential to engineers’ work. The meritocratic ideology—the belief that inequalities are the result of a properly-functioning social system that rewards the most talented and hard-working—legitimates social injustices and undermines the motivation to rectify such inequalities. These ideologies are built into engineering culture and are deeply embedded in the professional socialization of engineering students. I argue that it is not enough for engineering educators to introduce social justice topics into the classroom; they must also directly confront ideologies of meritocracy and depoliticization. In other words, cultural space must be made before students, faculty and practitioners can begin to think deeply about the role of their profession in the promotion of social justice.
33 Mindsets in Engineering "The technical rationality that is the engineer's stock-in-trade requires the calculation of means for the realization of given ends. But it requires no broad insight into those ends or their consequences. Engineers are aware of, are trained to be aware of, these limitations; insofar as they do consider ends, they cease to act as engineers." Robert Zussman [1: 122–123] This chapter uses engineering humor to draw out some mindsets commonly found in engineering and relates them to the intersection of engineering and social justice. Some mindsets are so much a part of mainstream engineering culture (or mainstream culture) that we may be unaware of alternative perspectives. The in-tent of this chapter is to separate the worldviews from the profession of engineering itself.
This chapter surveys a range of educational and professional reform efforts in engineering carried out by
the Engineering, Social Justice, and Peace network and its members. These efforts are categorized in a way
that highlights the diversity of the approaches taken as well as their interconnections. Beyond documenting
and categorizing a range of contemporary initiatives in engineering and social justice, the chapter argues
that, to be most effective, ESJP members attempt to integrate their particular values orientations and
commitments with systematic attention to a wide range of organizational and conceptual problems that
inhibit engineering for social justice and peace.
For the inaugural Workshop on Philosophy & Engineering (WPE-2007), this abstract asks why engineers are turning now to philosophy. Upon reflection, philosophy and engineering are very different occupations, and engineering has rarely turned to philosophy in the long history of the systematic design and production of complex artifacts. After briefly examining events since World War 2, the extended abstract carries over Kuhn's explanation of the rise of philosophy of science during the intellectual tumult of relativity and quantum physics in the opening moments of the 20th century to the case of engineering in the early moments of the 21st century. Specifically, the paper argues that the crisis of the rapid pace of technological change, reflected in the centripetal forces of the O's (bio, nano, and info) may help explain increased interest in a philosophy of engineering at this time. The abstract concludes by citing a number of ways that philosophy may help clarify what otherwise might be confusing times.
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