Projects per year
Organization profile
Introduction / mission
The Philosophy and Ethics (P&E) Group conducts research at the intersection of philosophy, technology, and innovation
Highlighted phrase
Philosophical perspectives on technology and innovation
Organisational profile
Research at the Philosophy and Ethics (P&E) group connects philosophy and ethics to technology and innovation. We believe the design, use, and regulation of technologies is enriched by ethical and philosophical analysis. In turn, philosophy must be informed by science, innovation, and technological developments. A few of the research topics studied in the group include theories and models of technological and cultural evolution, and ethical assessment of persuasive technologies, social robotics, and advances in medical and mobility technologies. Interdisciplinary cooperation is vital for our research, which often involves direct engagement with the natural, engineering and social sciences. Researchers in the P&E group often study innovative technologies and technology-related problems in detail to enable genuinely empirically informed analyses that are meaningful to philosophers, researchers in other areas, and society. For this purpose, the group has established close interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers from other groups in the TU/e School of Innovation Sciences, as well as with mechanical engineers, climate scientists, and archaeologists, among others.
At the same time, we also view fundamental philosophical research as an essential part of what we do. Our research on technology-related problems and technological innovations requires going beyond the application of existing frameworks. Members of the group have proposed substantial changes to existing philosophical theories such as consequentialism, Kantian ethics, responsible innovation frameworks, and the extended-mind hypothesis. Members have also developed entirely new philosophical frameworks, such as the ethical design cycle and theories of technical functions and of engineering knowledge. Moreover, we work on fundamental critical assessments of technology-related research in various sciences, and of programs in engineering disciplines.
The P&E group is currently the management headquarters for the 4TU|Centre for Ethics and Technology. In addition, the group is a member of the Dutch Research School for Philosophy (OZSW), is actively involved in the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, and has ongoing collaborations with both private and public partners.
Past and current stakeholders in P&E group projects include the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DAF Trucks, Agentschap NL, Milieudefensie, Rathenau Instituut.
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Network
Profiles
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Chirag Arora, MSc
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Science, Philosophy & Ethics - Doctoral Candidate
Person: Prom. : doctoral candidate (PhD)
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Mandi Astola
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Science, Philosophy & Ethics - Doctoral Candidate
Person: Prom. : doctoral candidate (PhD)
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Gunter Bombaerts
- Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Science, Philosophy & Ethics - Assistant Professor
Person: UD : Assistant Professor
Projects
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COME-RES: Community Energy for the uptake of RES in the electricity sector. Connecting long-term visions with short-term actions
Bombaerts, G., Laes, E. J. W. & Bombaerts, G.
1/09/20 → 28/02/23
Project: Research direct
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Scaling up Co-creation: Avenues and Limits for Integrating Society in Science and Innovation
Bombaerts, G., Bombaerts, G., Tsui, S., Astola, M., Laes, E. J. W., Wieczorek, A. J., Spahn, A., Benckhuijsen-Mertens, P., Reymen, I. M. M. J. & Royakkers, L. M. M.
1/05/18 → 31/07/21
Project: Research direct
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Working ‘with’ or ‘against’ the machine? Optimizing human-robot collaboration in logistic warehouses
Smids, J., Le Blanc, P. M. & Le Blanc, P. M.
1/04/18 → 31/01/21
Project: Research direct
Research Output
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Bridging the gap: the case for an ‘Incompletely Theorized Agreement’ on AI policy
Stix, C. & Maas, M. M., 15 Jan 2021, In : AI and Ethics. XX, XXResearch output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Trust in engineering
Nickel, P. J., 2021, The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 494-505Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review
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Agent-based modelling of values: the case of value sensitive design for refugee logistics
Boshuijzen - van Burken, C., Gore, R., Dignum, F. P. M., Royakkers, L., Wozny, P. & Shults, F. L., 31 Oct 2020, In : Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. 23, 4, 20 p., 6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)23 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Dataset: "Inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity might be sufficient to account for Neanderthal extinction"
Vaesen, K. (Creator) & Scherjon, F. (Creator), PLoS ONE, 2019
Dataset
Prizes
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1st prize #IkSchrijf Award 2017
Marjolein Lanzing (Recipient), 2017
Prize: Other › Discipline related › Professional
File -
1st Prize in Safety Category Data4Refugees
Erika Frydenlund (Recipient), Ross Gore (Recipient), Meltem Y. Sener (Recipient), Christine G. van Burken (Recipient), Christa DeKock (Recipient) & Engin Bozdag (Recipient), 21 Jan 2019
Prize: Other › Career, activity or publication related prizes (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.) › Scientific
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Award for Best Contribution for paper titled: “What is lost when we use technology to improve moral decision-making: Do moral deliberation and moral struggle have independent value for moral progress?”
Frank, Lily E. (Recipient), 15 Jul 2016
Prize: Other › Career, activity or publication related prizes (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.) › Scientific
Activities
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Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (Journal)
Dunja Šešelja (Guest editor) & Jamie Shaw (Guest editor)
1 May 2021 → 1 May 2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity › Scientific
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Social Progress and Human Enhancement
Lily E. Frank (Speaker)
21 Jan 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
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Attributing Trustworthiness to Autonomous Machines, Technological Systems, and People
Philip J. Nickel (Speaker)
26 Nov 2020Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Scientific
Press / Media
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What is AI? Everything you need to know about Artificial Intelligence
11/12/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Moeten we autonome wapens preventief verbieden?
2/12/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Verbied preventief het gebruik van ‘killer robots’
Lambèr M.M. Royakkers, Rineke Verbrugge & Frank van Harmelen
30/11/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Student theses
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A brief encounter with Vincent: the effect on self-compassion from a single interaction with a chatbot that gives or asks for help
Author: van As, N., 31 Jul 2019Supervisor: IJsselsteijn, W. (Supervisor 1), Frank, L. (Supervisor 2) & Lee, M. (Supervisor 2)
Student thesis: Master
File -
Approaches to modelling technological change in energy models: a learning experience
Author: Wesselman, P., 29 May 2019Supervisor: Houkes, W. (Supervisor 1) & Verbong, G. (Supervisor 2)
Student thesis: Master
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Cultural differences hampering turning e-waste to gold in Africa: intercultural cooperation for sustainable handling of e-waste in sub-Saharan Africa
Author: van Houtert, B., 22 Dec 2017Supervisor: Romijn, H. (Supervisor 1) & Spahn, A. (Supervisor 2)
Student thesis: Master
File