Knowledge-generation epistemology and the foundations of engineering

This paper suggests that the purpose (goal) and manner (method) of knowledge application and generation usefully distinguishes engineering and scientific knowledge. This method could be significantly useful in distinguishing the scientific and engineering components of engineering education, as well as underscored the centrality of social context to engineering work, and engineering values. This paper presents a brief exploration of the epistemology of knowledge, specifically distinguishing the development of scientific knowledge from the development of engineering knowledge. It outlines a pragmatic theory of knowledge which provides a means by which to reliably distinguish, particularly in a learning environment, the critical terms of ‘science’, ‘engineering science’ and ‘engineering.’