This presentation provides a critical review of how the interface between science and policy has ... more This presentation provides a critical review of how the interface between science and policy has been conceptualized and how these conceptual models have shaped the way scientists, policymakers, and the public interact. While much work has been done to problematize the relationship between science and society, the question of how science ought to inform policy remains an open one. Recent policy debates in areas such as food safety, energy security, and climate change suggest the need for new types of knowledge brokers who can bridge the worlds of science, policy, and society. Drawing on the policy studies literature, I suggest a new kind of science entrepreneur can help mobilize scientific research and transform it into policy-useful knowledge.
In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach dr... more In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach draws on critical perspectives from both social theory and science and technology studies (STS). We understand design to be the process of consciously shaping an artifact to adapt it to specific goals and environments. Our framework conceptualizes design as a process whereby technical and social considerations converge to produce concrete devices that fit specific contexts. How this happens – and the possibility that it might happen differently – is a crucial point for philosophers and other students of technology to consider. To date, design studies have been focused predominantly on the work of what we might call proximate designers, while work in the field of STS has focused on the role of non-designers such as clients, stakeholders, and other socially relevant groups. However, little attention has been paid to ways in which historical choices and cultural assumptions about technology shape the design process. Our goal is to address this oversight. We begin by posing a seemingly simple question: is design intentional? A review of the literature draws our attention to at least three possible levels of analysis: that of proximate designers, the immediate design environment, and broader society. We then present a critical theory of technology that provides a non-deterministic, non-essentialist approach to the study of technology. We argue that critical theory, with its emphasis on examining taken-for-granted assumptions, offers a theoretical space for thinking differently about design. Finally, we discuss the possibilities opened up by critical theory and some of the obstacles that stand in the way of realizing a richer world of design.
… and Innovation in Information Technology, 2003. The …, Jan 1, 2003
This paper reviews the literature on standards, looking in particular at how scholars in the soci... more This paper reviews the literature on standards, looking in particular at how scholars in the social sciences have approached the topic. I begin by discussing various historical meanings and motivations for standardization. Next I examine various approaches to studying standards, ...
... 106 P. Feng and A. Feenberg 2 Design and Intentionality ... The weak intentionality approach ... more ... 106 P. Feng and A. Feenberg 2 Design and Intentionality ... The weak intentionality approach viewsdesign as a complicated set of negotiations between proximate designers and those in the immediate design environment, ie, clients, corporate executives, and other stakeholders. ...
Philosophy and design: from engineering …, Jan 1, 2007
Thinking About Design Critical Theory of Technology and the Design Process Patrick Feng and Andre... more Thinking About Design Critical Theory of Technology and the Design Process Patrick Feng and Andrew Feenberg 1 Introduction In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach draws on critical perspectives from both social theory and ...
This presentation provides a critical review of how the interface between science and policy has ... more This presentation provides a critical review of how the interface between science and policy has been conceptualized and how these conceptual models have shaped the way scientists, policymakers, and the public interact. While much work has been done to problematize the relationship between science and society, the question of how science ought to inform policy remains an open one. Recent policy debates in areas such as food safety, energy security, and climate change suggest the need for new types of knowledge brokers who can bridge the worlds of science, policy, and society. Drawing on the policy studies literature, I suggest a new kind of science entrepreneur can help mobilize scientific research and transform it into policy-useful knowledge.
In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach dr... more In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach draws on critical perspectives from both social theory and science and technology studies (STS). We understand design to be the process of consciously shaping an artifact to adapt it to specific goals and environments. Our framework conceptualizes design as a process whereby technical and social considerations converge to produce concrete devices that fit specific contexts. How this happens – and the possibility that it might happen differently – is a crucial point for philosophers and other students of technology to consider. To date, design studies have been focused predominantly on the work of what we might call proximate designers, while work in the field of STS has focused on the role of non-designers such as clients, stakeholders, and other socially relevant groups. However, little attention has been paid to ways in which historical choices and cultural assumptions about technology shape the design process. Our goal is to address this oversight. We begin by posing a seemingly simple question: is design intentional? A review of the literature draws our attention to at least three possible levels of analysis: that of proximate designers, the immediate design environment, and broader society. We then present a critical theory of technology that provides a non-deterministic, non-essentialist approach to the study of technology. We argue that critical theory, with its emphasis on examining taken-for-granted assumptions, offers a theoretical space for thinking differently about design. Finally, we discuss the possibilities opened up by critical theory and some of the obstacles that stand in the way of realizing a richer world of design.
… and Innovation in Information Technology, 2003. The …, Jan 1, 2003
This paper reviews the literature on standards, looking in particular at how scholars in the soci... more This paper reviews the literature on standards, looking in particular at how scholars in the social sciences have approached the topic. I begin by discussing various historical meanings and motivations for standardization. Next I examine various approaches to studying standards, ...
... 106 P. Feng and A. Feenberg 2 Design and Intentionality ... The weak intentionality approach ... more ... 106 P. Feng and A. Feenberg 2 Design and Intentionality ... The weak intentionality approach viewsdesign as a complicated set of negotiations between proximate designers and those in the immediate design environment, ie, clients, corporate executives, and other stakeholders. ...
Philosophy and design: from engineering …, Jan 1, 2007
Thinking About Design Critical Theory of Technology and the Design Process Patrick Feng and Andre... more Thinking About Design Critical Theory of Technology and the Design Process Patrick Feng and Andrew Feenberg 1 Introduction In this chapter we offer a framework for thinking about the design of technology. Our approach draws on critical perspectives from both social theory and ...
Uploads
Papers by Patrick Feng