Collapse of Distance: Epistemic Strategies of Science and Technoscience

Already the title of this paper shoulders too heavy a burden of proof. By contrasting science and technoscience it alludes to an epochal break or fundamental shift in the culture of research. "Science " refers to theoretical representations of nature as we know them primarily from the history of physics and primarily from a tradition that begins with Einstein and end

Philosophy of NanoTechnoScience

Nanoscientific research has been characterized as an “engineering way of being in science.” This mode of research calls for a philosophy of technoscience that investigates the four questions: i) What is the role of theory and theory-development in nanoscale research, and what kinds of theories are needed for nanotechnological development? ii) What are the preferred methods and tools and the associated modes of reasoning in nanoscientific research? iii) What is nanotechnoscience and how are its objects constituted? iv) What kind of knowledge do technoscientific researchers typically produce and communicate? The consideration of these questions yields a survey of nanotechnoscience in terms of disciplinary questions (a complex field partially disclosed by stretching closed theories), of methodology (constructions and qualitative judgments of likeness), of ontology (a thin conception of nature as unlimited potential), and of epistemology (acquisition and demonstration of capabilities). In all four cases, the strictly philosophical discussion leads to societal dimensions and questions of value

Philosophie der Nanotechnowissenschaft

Nanoscientific research has been characterized as an “engineering way of being in science.” This mode of research calls for a philosophy of technoscience that investigates the four questions: i) What is the role of theory and theory-development in nanoscale research, and what kinds of theories are needed for nanotechnological development? ii) What are the preferred methods and tools and the associated modes of reasoning in nanoscientific research? iii) What is nanotechnoscience and how are its objects constituted? iv) What kind of knowledge do technoscientific researchers typically produce and communicate? The consideration of these questions yields a survey of nanotechnoscience in terms of disciplinary questions (a complex field partially disclosed by stretching closed theories), of methodology (constructions and qualitative judgments of likeness), of ontology (a thin conception of nature as unlimited potential), and of epistemology (acquisition and demonstration of capabilities). In all four cases, the strictly philosophical discussion leads to societal dimensions and questions of value

Noumenal Technology: Reflections on the Incredible Tininess of Nano

Noumena are distinct from phenomena. While the latter are the things as they appear to us and as we experience them, the noumena are the philosophically infamous and mysterious things-in- themselves.2 The “noumenal technology” referred to in the title of this paper would therefore appear to be a contradiction in terms: Technology is a human creation that involves human knowledge and serves human needs; this firmly roots it in phenomena and it appears absurd to speak of technology that exists beyond human perception and experience among the things-in-themselves. The noumenal world is nature uncomprehended, unexperienced, and uncontrolled; it is nature in the sense of uncultivated, uncanny otherness. By speaking of “noumenal technology” this paper argues that some technologies are retreating from human access, perception, and control, and thus assume the character of this uncanny otherness. Three seemingly disparate reflections prepare the formulation of this thesis, and the remaining sections work to establish at least its plausibility

Molecular Disjunctions: Staking Claims at the Nanoscale

Nanoscience may be surrounded by controversy but is characterized by its absence. Evidence for this comes from the reconstruction of a peculiarly muted scientific "debate" regarding the claim that a single organic molecule may serve as a wire in electronic circuitry. Even though there are fundamentally different theoretical approaches, the debate remains entirely implicit. This is because the research in question is motivated by interest neither in a true representation of nature, nor simply in the invention of devices or production of new substances. As a place-oriented enterprise NanoTechnoScience consists mostly in the settlement and staking of claims on the nanoscale

Was ist TechnoWissenschaft? Zum Wandel der Wissenschaftskultur am Beispiel von Nanoforschung und Bionik

Bionik und Nanoforschung setzen auf synergetische Effekte aus neuen disziplinären Konstellationen. Indem ihre Problemstellungen über traditionelle Forschungszusammenhänge hinausgehen, stehen Bionik und Nanoforschung als „TechnoWissenschaften“ womöglich für einen grundsätzlichen Wandel der Wissenschaftskultur. Die Feststellung eines derartigen Wandels setzt eine historische Perspektive voraus, die angesichts einer gegenwärtig erst im Aufbruch befindlichen Forschung noch gar nicht zur Verfügung steht. Die These vom Wandel der Wissenschaftskultur kann hier also noch nicht abschließend begründet, aber wenigstens plausibel gemacht werden: Stellt das traditionelle Wissenschaftsverständnis die Formulierung und Prüfung von Theorien und Hypothesen in den Vordergrund, zeichnen sich die TechnoWissenschaften durch ihr qualitatives Vorgehen bei der Aneignung neuer Handlungs- und Eingriffsmöglichkeiten aus