Epistemology in Engineering Systems

The engineering systems division at MIT has adopted an official vision statement -- “ESD will be a leader in understanding, modeling, predicting and affecting the structure and behavior of technologically enabled complex systems.” To fulfill this vision, I think it is worthwhile for ESD faculty to r...

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Main Author: Frey, Daniel
Format: Working Paper
Language:en_US
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102914
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author Frey, Daniel
author_facet Frey, Daniel
author_sort Frey, Daniel
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description The engineering systems division at MIT has adopted an official vision statement -- “ESD will be a leader in understanding, modeling, predicting and affecting the structure and behavior of technologically enabled complex systems.” To fulfill this vision, I think it is worthwhile for ESD faculty to reflect on epistemology and its relationship to engineering systems. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge, justification, evidence, and related notions. By reflecting upon epistemology, we may clarify in our own minds how we come to know something about engineering systems and thereby improve our research methods. In this white paper, I pose five questions related to epistemology and engineering systems. I also discuss possible answers, but my goal was primarily to spark discussion rather than solidify a position.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1029142019-04-12T16:25:10Z Epistemology in Engineering Systems Frey, Daniel The engineering systems division at MIT has adopted an official vision statement -- “ESD will be a leader in understanding, modeling, predicting and affecting the structure and behavior of technologically enabled complex systems.” To fulfill this vision, I think it is worthwhile for ESD faculty to reflect on epistemology and its relationship to engineering systems. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge, justification, evidence, and related notions. By reflecting upon epistemology, we may clarify in our own minds how we come to know something about engineering systems and thereby improve our research methods. In this white paper, I pose five questions related to epistemology and engineering systems. I also discuss possible answers, but my goal was primarily to spark discussion rather than solidify a position. 2016-06-03T14:25:48Z 2016-06-03T14:25:48Z 2003-12 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102914 en_US ESD Working Papers;ESD-WP-2003-10 application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
spellingShingle Frey, Daniel
Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title_full Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title_fullStr Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title_full_unstemmed Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title_short Epistemology in Engineering Systems
title_sort epistemology in engineering systems
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102914
work_keys_str_mv AT freydaniel epistemologyinengineeringsystems