This article is based on a presentation delivered at the 2016 Symposium of the Philosophy and Society Circle hosted by the Central Connecticut State University. It addresses a current debate among leading scholars within technophilosophy (hence force referred to as technophilosophy) concerning its marginalization within Philosophy and its relevance to society. This pervasive problem in technophilosophy is particularly alarming given the important focus that technology now plays in life and society. As stated by Hannson (2012), “There is no lack of technology-related subject matter in philosophy, but there is a remarkable lack of sustained attention to it. This has to be rectified in order for philosophy to adequately reflect the human condition. It is high time to de-marginalize the philosophy of technology (p. 92).
This paper is based on the assumption that with the waning popularity of academic associations and ongoing struggles to maintain membership numbers and attract new scholars to Philosophy and its sub-areas (including technophilosophy) it is time to reflect on how scholars and academic associations can (or should) remold themselves to better keep pace with the changing values and interests within contemporary society in an effort to remain relevant.
Where did technophilosophy come from and how did it evolve? How can insight can be gained from the recent success of technoethics to help de-marginalize technophilosophy and leverage its future relevance within society? The purpose of this article is reflect on the state of contemporary technophilosophy and the recent success of technoethics with an eye toward the future. to address this problem, this article draws inspiration from the pioneering ideas of Mario Bunge and successful applications of the technoethical inquiry approach to help identify key areas of inquiry to help further de-marginalize technophilosophy and showcase it as a budding avenue of academia with much to offer.