The Context of Construction – Philosophy of Science and the Engineering Sciences (NWO-ASPASIA)
Project leader: prof.dr.ir. Mieke Boon
Scientific research in the context of technological applications is of tremendous societal importance. Yet, epistemological and methodological aspects of scientific practices, such as the engineering sciences, are poorly understood and are rarely the focus of reflective studies. This project aims to develop an in-depth philosophical understanding of these epistemological and methodological aspects. It also aims to implement the results of this understanding and so contribute to qualitative progress in the practice of scientific research and education. The focus of this project is on how knowledge is constructed (i.e., ‘the context of construction’) rather than justification as used in traditional philosophy of science. This will result in a conceptual and epistemological framework, and in detailed analyses of the multiplicity of methods within this framework. Research projects in Nanotechnology and in Technical Medicine are taken as examples.
This project is pioneering in the emerging field of the Philosophy of Science in Practice.
Duration: Februari 1st 2012 till Januari 31st 2017