Technology, Normativity, and the Future: the Aristotelian Turn

In our postmodern era all certainties seem to have gone. Neither the idea of progress nor standard ethical theories have apparently retained enough power to guide humanity. As a result, technologists find themselves in a paradoxical situation. While they demonstrate increased reality-changing activity, they are increasingly losing the instruments to effectuate their responsibilities for the future of the species. Two reactions to this state of affairs are possible. The first way is to accept this condition passively. This reaction consists of hardly more than hoping and praying. The second way is more active. That reaction consists of bringing about alternative routes to tackle the responsibilities of technologists. Providing such a reconceptualization is the aim of this paper. Its starting point is rooted in the old Aristotelian philosophy.\ud However embarrassing this might sound, the claim will be defended that the basic structure of Aristotle's ethics (quality of character in changing circumstances) is highly relevant for a fresh approach to forming the "virtuous engineer.

Competenties en onderwijs - een conceptuele analyse

Met de nieuwe accreditatieregeling voor het universitaire onderwijs wordt de nadruk verlegd van kennisoverdracht naar competentieverwerving. Een voor de hand liggende operationalisering in termen van vaardigheden doet deze omslag tekort. Het begrip 'competentie' biedt meer dan dat, namelijk het samenkomen van drie dimensies: het specifieke vakgebied, de persoon van de (toekomstige) professional, en de externe omgeving waarmee contact wordt onderhouden. De bedoeling van dit artikel is het verkennen van dit drieledige terrein, zonder direct in een operationele definitie terecht te komen. Aan de hand van de inmiddels gevleugelde term 'the reflective practitioner' wordt geprobeerd de drie elementen te verbinden. Daarbij wordt aandacht besteed aan verschillende soorten van 'reflectie' en aan de bijzondere kenmerken van een 'praktijk'. Een tweetal voorbeelden (geschiedenis en scheikunde) wordt gebruikt om de concepten te illustreren

Reflection in education: a Kantian epistemology

As even its defenders admit, reflection in education suffers from a lack of conceptual clarity. In this essay, Henk Procee provides a philosophical analysis of the central concepts in this domain. In the current literature, these concepts are usually taken from the pragmatic school of John Dewey and from critical social theory associated with Jürgen Habermas. In contrast, Procee argues that Kant’s philosophy incorporates ideas better suited to understanding reflection in education — particularly through his distinction between understanding ("Verstand") and judgment ("Urteilskraft"), a distinction that supports an epistemology that accepts the special nature of reflection as judgment as opposed to formal learning (which, in Kant’s analysis, is part of understanding). In addition, Procee discusses some consequences for the aims and methods of reflection in education

TECHNOLOGY, NORMATIVITY, AND THE FUTURE: THE ARISTOTELIAN TURN

In our postmodern era all certainties seem to have gone. Neither the idea of progress nor standard ethical theories have apparently retained enough power to guide humanity. As a result, technologists find themselves in a paradoxical situation. While they demonstrate increased reality-changing activity, they ar