What Philosophy Brings to the Engineering Profession – Guru Madhavan at Cranfield

What’s at the heart of the engineering profession? What unique powers does the profession have and how can they be harnessed? How do the role, purpose and identity of engineers evolve through millennia? And, most importantly, how does philosophy help us address these questions? In this fascinating interview, Professor Andrey Pavlov and Dr Toby Thompson (Cranfield University) speak with Dr Guru Madhavan (U.S. National Academy of Engineering) about the nature of the engineering profession and the value of philosophy for advancing it. Andrey, Toby, and Guru cover a huge variety of topics, including
- The historical evolution of engineers’ identity,
- The relationship between engineering, economics, and philosophy,
- The value of philosophy for helping engineers negotiate multiple pressures and hone their powers,
- The often forgotten value of maintenance and the essential role of “grind challenges”,
- The current programmes at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering,
- As well as the design of the traffic management system in the city of Stockholm, the collective organizing behind the construction of the Great Living Chola Temples, and much more.

This conversation is part of a series of interviews on “Philosophy for Practical Professions” under the theme of Philosophy, Management and Technology led by Professor Andrey Pavlov at Cranfield University.