2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Knowledge and Praxis : The meaning and the scope of "practical turn" in the theory of knowledge
| Project/Area Number |
15520007
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Philosophy/Ethics
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
MURATA Junich The University of Tokyo, Graduate School, Professor, 大学院・総合文化研究科, 教授 (40134407)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OKAMOTO Takuji The University of Tokyo, Graduate School, Associate Professor, 大学院・総合文化研究科, 助教授 (30262421)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Knowledge / Science / Operationalism / Technology / Engineering Ethics / Scientific instruments / Risk / Safety |
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| Research Abstract |
The main purpose of this research is to consider various problems related to the relationship between knowledge and praxis from the philosophical and the historical point of view.
1. One of the representative views, in which knowledge is interpreted in the context of praxi, is Dewey's pragmatism. Following Dewey's view, we have clarified the close relation between science and technology, which is fundamentally different from the popular views of "applied science".We have also clarified the characteristic view of the relationship between technology and ethics, according to which technology and ethics are considered to work together for solving concrete problems.
2. On the basis of this pragmatic view, we tried to develop an alternative perspective for engineering ethics. In this perspective, ethics of engineering must not be restricted in the field of professional ethics but must be extended to the cultural dimension in which engineers' works are embedded and also to the relation between professionals and public, in which the general ethical view such as "civic virtue" plays an important role.
3. In the history of science, Bridgman's operationalism is considered one of the representative views, in which the practical character of knowledge is emphasized. Although Bridgman' view has influenced various philosophers' view of knowledge, he himself belongs to a traditional causal view of nature, so that he cannot follow the new development of physics, such as that of quantum theory.
4. Experimental instruments played a crucial role in the development of modern science. To clarify this role, we have not only investigated various roles of instruments in the process of the introduction and the development of modern science in early modern Japan, but we also tired to display the results of these investigations in some exhibitions.
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