ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses recent breakthroughs in aesthetic philosophy relevant to the philosophy of engineering. Recent aesthetics has widened its scope of investigation by considering artifacts other than artworks and evaluative values beyond beauty. The chapter queries how aesthetics thus widened in scope helps to address new and old questions in the philosophy of engineering. Which characteristics do engineered artifacts have—and how different are they ultimately from artworks? Can engineered artifacts be experienced in an aesthetic mode? Should they be—if so, how? And should that experiential mode inform the design of engineering artifacts, or inform it to a greater degree than it currently does? Which values may aesthetically designed engineering products disclose to us that they otherwise would not? In particular, do engineered artifacts carry certain moral values that we can only access when experiencing them aesthetically? The chapter introduces current frameworks in aesthetics that help engineering philosophers address such questions head-on.
