Oh heavens, there are so many. Let me think about it and I'll post a few titles. It would be easy to list lots but for those studying HPS it's important to mak

Oh heavens, there are so many. Let me think about it and I'll post a few titles. It would be easy to list lots but for those studying HPS it's important to make them as relevant as possible. The 'trouble' with philosophy (actually more its beauty) is that it's such wide, diverse and interesting subject that it's dead easy wander off into one of its many branches and then get sidetracked. As it is, many professional philosophers specialize in one of these branch fields (not that that's a bad thing as they've already learned the prerequisites - shortcuts don't usually work here). Although I've studied philosophy I'm not a professional philosopher (I'm in technolgy) so it's very important that I try not to mislead anyone (actually philosophy teaches you to think like that). Irrespective of any texts that I would recommend, there are two things you should do: (a) consult the syllabuses of traditional university philosophy courses, and (b) either talk to a mainstream philosopher or professional university lecturer in the subject about suitable texts or even about doing a short course in the subject (that's if you are already doing HPS). (Let me stress, identify mainstream philosophical strands first, learn from them so you don't waste time.) Let me add these points, I've always been involved with technology, science and engineering - technology has brought me my bread and butter but my studying philosophy and HPS has profoundly altered my perception of technology per se - and for that matter the world in general. In many ways it's made me a better human being simply because it teaches one to view the world from multiple perspectives and to try and think logically. (Mind you, that doesn't always work but you at least know when you've screwed up. Philosophy is a very persistent and recalcitrant rose-colored glasses remover.) Like many obsessive techies, it's easy for me to get fixated on my own specialities at the exclusion of almost everything else. Philosophy has the marvelous ability of regularly kicking me off my pedestal back down to earth. As such, I reckon both philosophy and HPS ought be compulsory short courses for both scientists and engineers at university.