Abstract
The nature of engineering and history as disciplines are explored and found to have some striking similarities, for example in the importance they place on context and practitioner involvement. They are found to be different from science, which focuses more on universal generalizations rather than on the particulars of given situations. The history of technology is paid special attention, because the discipline has developed in a way that incorporates both scientific (generalizing) and historical (context specific) characteristics. Proposals are made for giving historical studies greater space in engineering education.
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Acknowledgments
This paper was written when the author was on vacation leave from the University of Moratuwa at the University Melbourne on an Endeavour Fellowship administered by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
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Dias, P. The Disciplines of Engineering and History: Some Common Ground. Sci Eng Ethics 20, 539–549 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-013-9447-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-013-9447-2