Engineering Science as a “Discipline of the Particular”? Types of Generalization in Engineering Sciences

Abstract

Literature suggests that in engineering sciences the possibilities to generalize knowledge are more limited than in natural sciences. This is related to the action-oriented nature of engineering sciences and to the role of values. I will discuss the contributions of abstraction and idealization to generalization and then describe four case studies in engineering sciences to illustrate that different types of generalization can be distinguished. I will then analyze the nature of these types of generalization.