Harmonious Technology

Technology has become a major subject of philosophical ethical reflection in recent years, as the novelty and disruptiveness of technology confront us with new possibilities and unprecedented outcomes as well as fundamental changes to our "normal" ways of living that demand deep reflection of technology. However, philosophical and ethical analysis of technology has until recently drawn primarily from the Western philosophical and ethical traditions, and philosophers and scholars of technology discuss the potential contribution of non-Western approaches only sparingly. Given the global nature of technology, however, there is an urgent need for multiculturalism in philosophy and ethics of technology that include non-Western perspectives in our thinking about technology. While there is an increased attention to non-Western philosophy in the field, there are few systematic attempts to articulate different approaches to the ethics of technology based on other philosophical and ethical traditions. The present edited volume picks up the task of diversifying the ethics of technology by exploring the possibility of Confucian ethics of technology. In the six chapters of this volume, the authors examine various ideas, concepts, and theories in Confucianism and apply them to the ethical challenges of technology; in the epilogue, the editors review the key ideas articulated throughout the volume to identify possible ways forward for Confucian ethics of technology. Harmonious Technology revives Confucianism for philosophical and ethical analysis of technology and presents Confucian ethics of technology as another approach to the ethics of technology. It will be essential for philosophers and ethicists of technology, who are urged to consider beyond the Western paradigms. More broadly, the volume will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of philosophy, science and technology studies, innovation studies, political science, and social studies.

This book, containing only papers subjected to strict peer-review by experts, covers the subject areas of innovative design methodology, product life-cycle design, intelligent optimization design, structural strength and robustness, reverse engineering, green design and manufacturing, design for sustainability, dynamics of machinery, new mechanisms and robotics, driven-train mechanisms, complex electro-mechanical system design, advanced CAE techniques and other related topics. It thus represents a veritable handbook guide to the topics covered.

The ABC of Harmony is the dawn of a shining, harmonious vision of peace and prosperity for all the nations of the planet earth! Together with it, enlightened citizens will emerge capable of building a harmonious civilization of peace and prosperity on the planet earth. - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (poet, President of India, 2002-2007)

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Originally published nearly forty years ago as a spiritual successor to Carl Mitcham and Robert Mackey’s Philosophy and Technology, the essays collected in the two volumes of Theology and Technology span an array of theological attitudes and perspectives providing sufficient material for careful reflection and engagement. The first volume offers five general attitudes toward technology based off of H. Richard Niebuhr’s five ideal types in Christ and Culture. The second volume includes biblical, historical, and modern theological engagements with the place of technology in the Christian life. This ecumenical collection ranges from authors who enthusiastically support technological development to those cynical of technique and engages the Christian tradition from the church fathers to recent theologians like Bernard Lonergan and Jacques Ellul. Taken together, these essays, some reproductions of earlier work and others original for this project, provide any student of theology a fitting entrée into considering the place of technology in the realm of the sacred.

Drawing on debates from traditional and postmodern thoughts on science and technology, the title builds a new theoretical framework to reconsider science and technology, integrating the opposing viewpoints that either justify science or negate it. As the third volume of a three-volume set that proposes to reconsider science and technology and explores how the philosophy of science and technology responds to an ever-changing world, this final volume seeks to restore the cultural implications of science. Across the six chapters, the authors probe the prospect of a pluralistic scientific culture, including discussions of diversified value choices, the tension between reason and unreason, other binary characteristics of scientific knowledge, including objectivity and uniqueness, universality and locality, as well as the loss, awakening and reconstruction of scientific culture. The authors call for a transformation of scientific culture from a dominant culture to an affirmative one and envision a free and open world of science and technology. The volume will appeal to scholars and students interested in the philosophy of science and technology, the ideology of scientism and anti-scientism, modernism and postmodernism, Marxist philosophy and topics related to scientific culture.

Embark on a journey into the future with "Sustainable India," a revolutionary blueprint that charts the course for India's transformation into a sustainable superpower in 50 years. In this pioneering work, the author unveils a novel strategy that places sustainability at the forefront of India's national objectives, ultimately leading to the creation of the world's first sustainable economy and ecosystem. Central to the book's proposal is the establishment of 130-150 equal high-rise, mixed-use blue-green cities as the linchpin of India's sustainability journey. The move enables large scale natural farming (~100 Mha), dense forests over 55% of land area and an extensive network of rivers, lakes, and canals. It also triggers a reversal to natural products, materials, and supply chains while nurturing a culture of minimalism. Simultaneously, it lays the foundation for a green transportation system and revitalization of the countryside. As India urbanizes, the book envisions a systematic dissemination of family planning, progressive asset ownership, minimum wages, healthy work policies, and social security. The book provides detailed strategies and transformation plans for each sector within industrials, manufacturing and services. By reorienting towards sustainability, the author demonstrates how production requirements can be minimized, domestic enterprises can gain a competitive edge, and the power of the people can be harnessed. Furthermore, "Sustainable India" illuminates the path towards a future with sustainable energy balance. The transformation is meticulously outlined in four phases, detailing government investments, industrial consolidation and expansion, infrastructure development and relocation, changes in trade, employment and wages. Based on the bottom up interlinked country model, India emerges as an independent economy with a real GDP of ~$28 trillion (2020 prices) by 2075. A high quality of life becomes a reality for every citizen, and India stands in perfect harmony with its environment. The book presents the World’s First Comprehensive and Empirical Model of Sustainability, defining the frontier of human knowledge & capabilities, altruism, health & environmental consciousness. The model has been developed using leading research, data and methodologies.