Theology and engineering: Has engineering lost its mojo?

Philosophy of Engineering is blogging about theology and engineering here. Take a whiff:

I have always seen my engineering career as a journey, a never ending path of learning along which I am driven by a love for the subject. As such the few years spent as university have long-since become only a small part of what makes me an engineer.

This may be likened to some form of religious devotion, something spiritual, something beyond the materialist and utilitarian application of scientific principles to problems. Rather it may be characterised by a desire to understand the nature of engineering knowledge and how that knowledge can be used for the benefit of mankind the universe and everything. To some extent, it seems this zeal is missing from new entrants to the engineering profession; it seems the profession may be losing touch with its soul.

Given the history of the 20th Century and the turn that philosophy took in that century, it may be a bit late in the day to worry about engineering having lost its soul; engineering is merely a small part of a culture that has largely lost its soul, in any seriously religious sense.

If on the other hand, we are wondering where the passion is in a more secular sense (has engineering lost its mojo?), I would agree that engineers need to better follow their bliss and find engagement or passionate involvement with their work. There are many ways to do this, and chapters 2 & 3 of The Entrepreneurial Engineer explore these topics (see here).