Robophilosophy: Philosophy of, for, and by Social Robotics

A comprehensive introduction to robophilosophy, the new field that explores the deep and far-reaching implications of social robotics.

Robophilosophy is the philosophical engagement with the phenomena and problems that arise with “social robots”: robots developed for use everywhere in society, at work, in public spaces, or at home. This new area of research is applied philosophy undertaken in close contact with, or even as part of, empirical research in the multidisciplinary areas of human–robot interaction studies and social robotics. It includes, but goes beyond, ethical considerations, offering new research in social ontology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and more.

The book explores the wide-ranging questions we currently have about the new class of artificial social agents generated by robotics technology. Written by researchers from philosophy, psychology, and the technical sciences, the book shows how philosophical knowledge can help us to navigate the unprecedented sociocultural risks arising from this technology.