The Empirical Methods for Philosophy of Technology course will give the students an introduction to the subject, why the students may want to consider it in their research and discuss a range of pitfalls that may lie in pursuing this line of work. Additionally, the course will introduce the students to a range of approaches that can be broadly affiliated with doing empirical philosophy, such as Interviewing, Focus Groups, Philosophy through Artistic Intervention, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Foresight Studies and others.

The course runs across five days, with each day covering one dimension of philosophy of technology: metaphysics, (meta)ethics, politics, applied ethics. For each topic there will be at least one invited lecture from someone from the 4TU.Ethics network, and at least one interactive exercise. Every day, the course will also entail interactive activities in which students will discuss the course’s authors and topics in relation to their own research interests.

In 2026, the second edition be taught of Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies: Conceptual Engineering, Social Disruption, and Technology.  This course will take place February 16th to 20st, location TBA. 

This course focuses on present-day and particularly continental philosophical approaches to technology and science. The course consists of 12 sessions (±150mins), with sessions centering around authors (e.g. Heidegger, Simondon, Stiegler), and other sessions being more thematic (e.g. Synthetic Cell, AI, Anthropocene). Confirmed lecturers are:

Moral philosophy before the mid-Twentieth Century developed under the implicit assumption that outcomes could be treated as determinate. Risks and probabilities, when mentioned, were treated as a side issue. By contrast, our current understanding of agency and causation is probabilistic and foregrounds issues of uncertainty. In addition, there is significant attention to the disruption surrounding fast-paced societal and technological change. Moral philosophy, epistemology, and applied ethics have adapted to this understanding, but the philosophical issues are far from settled. This is an exciting area of philosophical and interdisciplinary research.

The retreat offers a unique opportunity to break away from the distractions of university life and immerse yourself in focused, productive writing time, all while enjoying the calming surroundings of nature and the support of fellow PhD students. You’ll have uninterrupted time to focus on your writing while being guided by an experienced writing coach, dr. Udo Pesch, who will help you develop strategies to move past common challenges and will also be available for one-on-one sessions. While the daytime hours are dedicated to intensive writing, the evenings will feature fun and relaxing activities designed to help you recharge and enjoy the company of other colleagues.

The aim is to get a firm understanding of the operational principles, design, and use of AI systems. To become able to understand, articulate, and offer contributions to the philosophy and ethics of contemporary AI.