Abstract

Philosophical approaches to engineering tend to use the technical artefact as a starting point. From the artefact onwards, they look at its design and its importance in human life. All this, however, only seems possible if the artefact is somehow put in an exposed position, where it becomes available as a reference for further investigation. A similar kind of exposure seems to take place in theatre when something is put on stage. This chapter therefore investigates how the study of theatre may provide a valuable contribution to philosophy of technology. The investigation focusses on object theatre, where the treatment of artefacts plays a particularly important role. After a conceptual clarification of the approach, the paper discusses two recent productions concerned with engineering and technology in more detail.