Philosophy of Engineering
Quantum theory and the new philosophy of science have forced us to adopt a participant view of reality where the inquirer and inquiry are essential aspects of reality itself.
The paradigm shift from spectator to participant is also a problem shift in inquiry from 'how does the 'fixed' universe work' to 'how to work, as a participant, in an emerging universe'.
Are we scientific spectators seeking to understand the timeless laws governing an objective reality – ‘out there’? Or are we better understood as part of reality, as embodied participants seeking to bring about a more desirable future in an emerging reality?
The classical scientific representation of inquiry suggests we searching for the mathematical laws that fully determine the inevitable course of events. The participant representation of inquiry understands research and development as essential characteristics of the recursively enabling constructive emergence of reality.
Per hypothesis, the participant is a pragmatic engineer working to alter the course of events, to steer the universe toward a more desirable future.