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Problem-Solving Technologies

A User-Friendly Philosophy

Problem-Solving Technologies cover

Problem-Solving Technologies

A User-Friendly Philosophy

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Description

In our everyday activities we use material objects in different shapes and forms to solve various practical problems. We may use a knife to tighten a screw, turn an old washing machine drum into a fireplace, use the edge of a kitchen countertop to open a bottle, or place a hammer on the puncture patch glued to a bike’s inner tube to exert pressure on the patch until the glue dries. How should we identify these objects? What functions do they have?

If we want to understand the role which material objects play in our everyday activities, we need to move away from universal identifications of objects. This is because universal identifications are not sensitive to contextual differences and cannot describe how each individual user connects to their surrounding objects in an infinite variety of contexts. Problem-Solving Technologies provides a user-friendly understanding of technological objects. This book develops a framework to characterise and categorize technological objects at the level of users’ subjective experiences.

Table of Contents

1.Introduction
Part I: The General Categorisation
2.Artificial Categorisations
3.A User-Friendly Metaphysics
4.Problem Solving Technologies
5.The Conditions for the Possibility of Technologies
Part II: The Particular Categorisation
6.A Taxonomy of Function Theories
7.Conservative Functions vs. Authentic Functions
8.A User-Friendly Theory of Function
Part III: Ontology
9.Existence of Artefacts
10.Reality of Technologies
Part IV: Activity Realism in Practice
11.Scientific Reality
12.The Human, the Technological and the Limitations of Autonomous Systems
References
Index

Product details

Published Jun 15 2024
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 218
ISBN 9781538157893
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series Philosophy, Technology and Society
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

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