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Mon 18 Feb, 2013 06:25 pm
Hello all, I am a new member to the forum as you can all see. Before I get into the questions I have for you all, I'd like to tell you a little about myself since I plan to use these message boards in the future. Call me Trap, I am a twenty year old undergraduate studying in Virginia. I'm currently in my second semester of my third year of studies. (Really it's my fourth year... lost a semester of class credits when I transferred schools earlier in the fall. I'm a double-major in Philosophy & Political Science, initially I planned to attend law school but more recently I've been considering teaching Philosophy. Now that all that's out of the way, let me get into my questions regarding Philosophy of Technology: It's Nature and Significance - This is my first Philosophy class regarding technology in general. We've been learning about Martin Heidegger, although he's extremely hard to grasp. Phew... I keep getting off topic, my apologies... I'll post my questions now.
For this course, were encouraged to write four papers. You can earn up to 50 points per paper. Here's an abbreviated version of his grading scale, 1150-1900 words (maximum of 16 possible points), 2600-4000 (maximum of 33 possible points), etc. The class has no tests, no exams, no quizzes, no requirements. We have to create our own assignments up and in turn receive points for the work. (To get an A in the class you must have 220+ points by the end of the semester) Were supposed to come up with our own topics, they must relate to the class, and/or Philosophy of Technology (generally speaking)
My goal of this post is to receive some topic/paper ideas. You can post a specific paper idea, general ideas (which I can in turn build off of), or possibly current events worth writing about. Just really struggling to find something that interests me. My one and only requirement is that if you decide to post an idea, topic, etc. Just be certain it relates to Philosophy of Technology, and try to avoid social networking of all kinds (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) I have 18 days to write two of these four papers, My goal is to have both being 15+ pages.
I'd like to thank anyone that took the time to dissect my post, remember to share with me what interests you (in regards to Philosophy of Technology) Never stop seeking the truth... Peace to all
@JustifiedReflections,
Not positive if this would interest you but how does
Bioethics fit for you?
@Ragman,
My mind is completely open to every possible option, I'd love to dive into Bioethics. What are your personal thoughts on Bioethics? Greatly appreciate the response by the way, I encourage you to elaborate
@JustifiedReflections,
You're welcome. I wish you good luck and good energy with your studies.
I have an interest in Bioethics where it intersects with the controversial issue of Euthanasia (taking of human life on request of that person).
@Ragman,
Just began researching your suggestion, Thanks again. Good energy is always welcome
What exactly is the philosophy of technology?
@JustifiedReflections,
JustifiedReflections wrote:My goal of this post is to receive some topic/paper ideas. You can post a specific paper idea, general ideas (which I can in turn build off of), or possibly current events worth writing about. Just really struggling to find something that interests me.
One of my own first college-day expeditions into philosophy seems to fall into your field. It was about the question if machines can think. The expedition was sparked by two articles in the January 1990 issue of
Scientific American, both of whom can be found on the web (in PDF). The first is John Searle's
Is the Brain's Mind a Computer Program?; the second is Paul and Patricia Churchland's
Could a Machine Think?. Reading these two articles should be enough for you to decide if you're interested. If you are, I advise you to read the articles in the "Further Reading" sections of both articles. They're all very interesting and should prepare you well for writing your paper.
@JustifiedReflections,
I am also unsure what is meant by "philosophy of technology." In the early twentieth century, Emile Durkheim analyzed the effects of industrialization on society. More recently sociologists have analyzed the effect of technological advances.
As far as ethics is concerned, there is much current debate on new military technology, especially drones.
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