Advanced PhD course on Philosophy of Technology - Relating Technology to Ethics Politics and the Empirical through the Lenses of Postphenomenology and Critical Theory of Technology/Critical Constructivism (2025)
The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design at Aalborg University
Welcome to Advanced PhD course on Philosophy of Technology: Relating Technology to Ethics, Politics, and the Empirical through the Lenses of Postphenomenology and Critical Theory of Technology/Critical Constructivism (2025)
Description: During this course a secetion of existing literature on two central positions in philosophy of technology -- postphenomenology and critical theory / critical constructivism -- will be discussed and scutinized. Focus will be on how technologies inform our interpretation of the world, how technology nudge humans to do certain things, how technology is value-ladden and embedded in power structures and normative regimes, and how technologies might exclude vulnerable groups and individuals. Course literature will include a double special issue of Techné entitled "Critical Constructivism and Postphenomenology: Ethics, Politics, and the Empirical" (vol 24, issue 1/2) plus selected case studies applying one of these two positions in an analysis of a technology. Everyone who studies technology, technological implementation and technological innovation in a socio-technical perspective will benefit from the course's thorough discussions and comparison of these two central positions in philosophy of technology, and is a must for ph.d. scholars who in their research touch upon how technologies inform our interpretation of the world, how technology nudge humans to do certain things, how technology is value-ladden and embedded in power structures and normative regimes, how technology excludes vulnerable groups and individuals.
Prerequisites: The course is aimed towards ph.d. scholars working with technology in a socio-technical prespective. Disciplinary diversity is appreciate. Thus, no other disciplinary prerequisites will be enforced.
Learning objectives:
- Knowledge about different philosophy of technology positions and their take on ethics, politics, sensemaking, and empirical work.
- Skills in choosing and linking philosophy of technology frameworks in / to own research.
- Competences in communicating philosophy of technology topics in an interdisciplinary environment.
Organizer: Tom Børsen
Lecturers: Tom Børsen and Lars Botin
ECTS: 2.0
Time: 11 and 12 December 2025
Place: Aalborg University
Zip code: 9220
City: Aalborg
Maximal number of participants: 15
Deadline: 20 November 2025