SPT v13n2 - Introduction to Postphenomenology Discussion

Introduction to Postphenomenology Discussion

Evan Selinger
Rochester Institute of Technology

Postphenomenology: A Critical Companion to Ihde (SUNY Press: 2006) is an edited volume dedicated to furthering the following goals.

The book aims to distill the essence of Don Ihde’s central contributions to philosophy and a range of other disciplines that analyze technology, science, and embodiment.

The book expands the extant dialogue on Ihde’s contributions (2a) by inviting him to respond to a range of critical issues that he discusses in different areas of his extensive oeuvre , and (2b) by articulating areas of future research that postphenomenological insight can illuminate.

The essays collected here in Techné are revised versions of talks presented at the last meeting of the Society for the Philosophy of Technology. In both contexts, Val Dusek, Larry Hickman, Dennis Weiss, and I collectively further the goals just listed, with each philosopher placing emphasis upon different themes.

• Hickman enhances our understanding of Ihde’s relation to pragmatism.
• Dusek furthers the dialogue between Ihde and Marxists through a discussion of Edgar Zilsel.
• Weiss structures his interrogation of Ihde through core themes found in philosophical anthropology and thereby advances intra-disciplinary inquiry.
• I follow-up on the normative issues raised in my chapter to Postphenomenology: A Critical Companion to Ihde .

Keeping with the structure of Postphenomenology: A Critical Companion to Ihde and the aforementioned conference, this contribution to Techné concludes with Ihde replying to his interlocutors.