Technology is a crucial feature of the modern world, and human beings are necessarily technological creatures. Our goal must be to use technology effectively, efficiently, and ethically. We have hands that are adept at using tools, and intelligence that guides our actions. We also have desires and emotions that motivate us to achieve more and more, never allowing us to stop.From the viewpoint of praxiology, technology does not exist merely to satisfy the human need in an effective and efficient way. The problems of the modern world and the questions we must ask with respect to technology and how it is used are complicated and demanding. They may initially seem mysterious, perhaps even partly subconscious. In this fifteenth volume of a distinguished international series, contributors address essential questions about the philosophy and ethics of technology. Their intention is to point out the road not only to its better applications but also to its greater understanding.The first part of the book addresses general questions about the theory of technology. The second part of the volume focuses on special topics like information and communication technologies and work systems, as well as the foundations of problem solving and the history of innovation in the age of enlightenment. The third part of the book is on ethical judgments. It emphasizes the importance of ethics in the application of technology and, especially, when we commercialize it in order to meet the needs of the people in a free market society. This volume offers its reader a balanced picture of the state of the art of theoretical and applied issues in technology research--emphasizing the praxiological perspective that characterizes the entire series.

Depending on how one construes the kinship relations, technology has been either the stepchild of philosophy or its grandfather. In either case, technology has not been taken into the bosom of the family, but has had to wait for attention, care and feeding, while the more unclear elements - science, art, politics, ethics - were being nurtured (or cleaned up). Don Ihde puts technology in the middle of things, and develops a philosophy of technology that is at once distinctive, revealing and thought provoking. Typically, philosophy of technology has existed at, or beyond, the margins of the philosophy of science, and therefore the question of technology has come to be posed (when it is) either by historians of technology or by social critics. The philosophy of technology, as analysis and critique of the concepts, methodologies, implicit epistemologies and ontologies of technological praxis and thought, has remained underdeveloped. When philosophy does turn its attention to the insistent presence of technology, it inevitably casts the question in one or another of the dominant modes of philosophical interpretation and reconstruction. Thus, the logic of technological thinking and practice has been a subject of some systematic work (e. g. , in the Praxiology of Kotarbinski and Kotarbinska, among others). And the question of technology's relation to science has been posed in the framework of the nomological model of explanation in the sciences - e. g.

The highly sophisticated techniques of modern engineering are normally conceived of in practical terms. Corresponding to the instrumental function of technology, they are designed to direct the forces of nature according to human purposes. Yet, as soon as the realm of mere skills is exceeded, the intended useful results can only be achieved through planned and preconceived action processes involving the deliberately considered application of well designed tools and devices. This is to say that in all complex cases theoretical reasoning becomes an indispensable means to accomplish the pragmatic technological aims. Hence the abstracting from the actual concrete function of technology opens the way to concentrate attention on the general conceptual framework involved. If this approach is adopted the relevant knowledge and the procedures applied clearly exhibit a logic of their own. This point of view leads to a methodological and even an epistemological analysis of the theoretical structure and the specific methods of procedure characteristic of modern technology. Investigations of this kind, that can be described as belonging to an ana lytical philosophy of technology, form the topic of this anthology. The type of research in question here is closely akin to that of the philosophy of science. But it is an astonishing fact that the commonly accepted and carefully investigated philosophy of science has not yet found its counterpart in an established philosophy of technology.

Praxiology deals with working and doing from the point of view of effectiveness. It has three components: analysis of concepts involving purposive actions; critique of modes of action from the viewpoint of efficiency; and normative advisory aspects in recommendations for increasing human efficiency. This seventh volume of the Praxiology series focuses on the roots of the discipline. It brings together a selection of writings that illustrate various stages of French thought concerning this philosophy and methodology of action. It is also conceived as a tribute to the writings of Louis Bourdeau and V. Alfred Espinas, key figures in the origin of praxiology. In the first part, "The Origin of Praxiology" examines these origins in the work of Bourdeau and Espinas. Bourdeau's essay demonstrates the influence of contemporary theories, in particular those of evolution and Comte's positivism, but also shows the critical sense and originality of his thought. With reference to Greek philosophy, Espinas's contribution underlines the complex relations between acts and laws; it enables him to follow the slow progression of individuals as they endeavor to shape their destiny according to the circumstances and the direction of their attitudes. In the second part, "Science of Human Action," Maurice Blondel opposes radical rationalism and warns against the positive sciences. Abraham Moles and Elisabeth Rohmer offer an original approach inspired by phenomenology. In the third part, "Action Theory and Its Applications," the texts of Roland Caude and Arnold Kaufmann focus on humanist preoccupations, setting action in the economic context of the firm and the city. Victor Alexandre deals with the structural analysis of real and fictitious actions applied to a large number of elementary acts. Robert VallÚe's concluding essay proposes a model consisting of operators for observation, decision, and effectiveness in order to formalize the link between knowledge and action. What emerges from this volume is the constant idea that an individual's destiny is linked to the efficiency of his acts, but also that efficiency as a concept itself has multiple aspects, none of which should be underestimated. Wojciech W. Gasparski is professor of humanities at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and editor-in-chief of the Praxiology series. He has published several books and over two hundred articles and conference papers. Victor Alexandre is researcher and ma¯tre de confÚrences at the University of Nice's Laboratory of Experimental and Quantitative Psychology. He is the author of Les Echelles d'attitude.

This volume explores two traditions in practical philosophy: action theory, which concerns the nature of motivation for human action, and praxiology, the study of human action. By bringing different perspectives together, the volume strives to contribute to the international debate on theories of reasons for action as a philosophy of action.The volume consists of three main parts. The first part, "Reasons for Action," bridges the gap between reasons for action theories and praxiology. The second part of the volume, titled "Theories of Action," explores philosophical approaches to action. Finally, in the third part, "Applications," the contributors show several ways of applying praxiological ways of thinking and acting to the problems of reflection assessment, solving action incompleteness, and knowledge management.The ultimate goal of this volume is to broaden the scientific view of action: to establish a perspective on action that is permeated by moral theories on the one hand, and accounts focused on efficiency and economy of action on the other hand. This work is the newest volume in Transaction's Praxiology series.

This volume explores two traditions in practical philosophy: action theory, which concerns the nature of motivation for human action, and praxiology, the study of human action. By bringing different perspectives together, the volume strives to contribute to the international debate on theories of reasons for action as a philosophy of action.The volume consists of three main parts. The first part, "Reasons for Action," bridges the gap between reasons for action theories and praxiology. The second part of the volume, titled "Theories of Action," explores philosophical approaches to action. Finally, in the third part, "Applications," the contributors show several ways of applying praxiological ways of thinking and acting to the problems of reflection assessment, solving action incompleteness, and knowledge management.The ultimate goal of this volume is to broaden the scientific view of action: to establish a perspective on action that is permeated by moral theories on the one hand, and accounts focused on efficiency and economy of action on the other hand. This work is the newest volume in Transaction's Praxiology series.

The need for solutions to environmental problems is urgent. Expanded environmental research and knowledge, along with interest in environmental issues, has focused attention on the social, political, and practical aspects of environmental problems. Environmental Political Philosophy searches for common environmental goals, values, and policies in society. An essential undercurrent in political theory about the environment is that such issues are not questions of efficiency or technology. They cannot simply be addressed through knowledge of processes and mechanics of nature, by boosting or targeting research, or by allocating of resources and development of technology. Neither can they be resolved solely by increasing civic understanding and mounting environmental campaigns or requiring endless eco-friendly actions. A crucial element of environmental political philosophy is highlighted through the studies in this volume, which address the question of what constitutes efficient action or effective decision making. Praxiology commences with empirical orientation, but does so by maintaining the important sense that in the evaluation of actions and policies, ethical considerations must be employed in conjunction with effectiveness and efficiency.