scholarly journals Technologizing the Transcendental, not Discarding it

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Lemmens
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Social Language ◽  
The Social ◽  
Technical Artifacts

AbstractIn this reply I further defend my claim that the transcendental should always remain a primary concern for philosophy of technology as a philosophical enterprise, contra the empirical turn’s rejection of it. Yet, instead of emphasizing the non-technological conditions of technology, as ‘classic’ thinkers of technology such as Heidegger did, it should recognize technology itself as the transcendental operator par excellence. Starting from Heidegger’s ontological understanding of transcendence I show that while technical artifacts may indeed always conform to a certain horizon of understanding, they also constitute this horizon in specific ways. Following Stiegler I show that concrete technologies (technology with a small ‘t’) are not just empirical effects of an overarching movement of transcendence (Technology with a capital ‘T’) but are originally constitutive of it. In response to Romele’s critique that the social, language, images, imaginaries, symbols, etc. are also transcendentals, I argue that all these phenomena are always already conditioned by technical milieus. As for Besmer’s contention that I offer a reductive interpretation of postphenomenology’s notion of multistability, I argue that there are decisive systemic and organological limits to multistability offered by technical artefacts and that all variation in use and implementation is always constrained by inherent technical tendencies and processes of concretization. Agreeing with Besmer that the transcendental and the empirical should be understood not oppositional but compositional I argue that technology may be that which constantly ‘mediates’ between the two.

Linguistics: A Rhetor's Guide

1994 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dick Leith
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Text Linguistics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Study ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Linguistic Inquiry ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Abstract: To non-specialists, academic disciplines invariably seem homogeneous, even monolithic. But even a relatively young discipline such as modem linguistics is more diverse in its procedures and concerns than might appear to those working in other fields. In this paper I attempt to show how certain kinds of linguistic inquiry might be relevant to those whose primary concern is rhetoric. I argue that these practices are often opposed to what I call the dominant paradigm in modern linguistics, with its commitment to abstraction and idealization. I discuss first those strands of linguistics, such as discourse analysis, text-linguistics, and stylistics, which tend to take the social formation for granted; I end by considering recent trends in so-called critical language study. Finally, I offer some thoughts on how linguistics may proceed in order to achieve a more programmatic rapprochement with rhetoric.

Ancient Approaches to Letter-Writing and the Configuration of Communities through Epistles

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Fögen
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Letter Writing ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Pliny The Younger ◽  
The Social ◽  
Letter Writer

The chapter explores reflections on the practice of letter-writing, with equal attention to instructional handbooks (esp. Demetrius’ Περὶ ἑρμηνείας‎, Iulius Victor’s Rhetorica, Pseudo-Demetrius’ Τύποι ἐπιστολικοί‎, Pseudo-Libanius’ Ἐπιστολιμαῖοι χαρακτῆρες‎, and Erasmus of Rotterdam’s De conscribendis epistolis) and the meta-generic statements that letter-writers routinely embed in their correspondence (with a special focus on Cicero, Ovid, Seneca, and Pliny the Younger). In both types of sources, what one might call the social dimension of style registers as a primary concern: in order for the letter to fulfil its purpose, namely to generate a special bond between sender and recipient, the chosen idiolect has to be ‘appropriate’ (πρέπον‎/aptum) to the interpersonal relationship and its specific circumstances and exigencies. Shared stylistic values and the willingness of the letter-writer to adjust his character to that of the recipient generate a sense of community between the correspondents.

scholarly journals Wearable robotic exoskeletons: A socio-philosophical perspective on Duchenne muscular dystrophy research

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 404-413
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kapeller ◽  
Michael H. Nagenborg ◽  
Kostas Nizamis
Keyword(s):  
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Individual Model ◽  
Engineering Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

AbstractRecently, several research projects in the Netherlands have focused on the development of wearable robotic exoskeletons (WREs) for individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Such research on WREs is often treated solely within the disciplines of biomedical and mechanical engineering, overlooking insights from disability studies and philosophy of technology. We argue that mainly two such insights should receive attention: the problematization of the ableism connected to the individual model of disability and the stigmatization by assistive technology. While disability studies have largely rejected the individual model of disability, the engineering sciences seem to still locate disability in an individual’s body, not questioning their own problematization of disability. Additionally, philosophy of technology has argued that technologies are not neutral instruments but shape users’ actions and perceptions. The design of WREs may convey a message about the understanding of disability, which can be comprehended as a challenge and an opportunity: stigmatization needs to be avoided and positive views on disability can be evoked. This article aims to highlight the benefits of considering these socio-philosophical perspectives by examining the case of WREs for people with DMD and proposing design principles for WREs. These principles may enhance acceptability of WREs, not only by individuals with DMD but also by other users, and help engineers to better place their work in the social context.

scholarly journals Earthquakes on the surface: earthquake location and area based on more than 14 500 ShakeMaps

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1665-1679
Author(s):  
Stephanie Lackner
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Strong Ground Motion ◽  
Earthquake Location ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Geographic Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
Strong Ground

Abstract. Earthquake impact is an inherently interdisciplinary topic that receives attention from many disciplines. The natural hazard of strong ground motion is the reason why earthquakes are of interest to more than just seismologists. However, earthquake shaking data often receive too little attention by the general public and impact research in the social sciences. The vocabulary used to discuss earthquakes has mostly evolved within and for the discipline of seismology. Discussions on earthquakes outside of seismology thus often use suboptimal concepts that are not of primary concern. This study provides new theoretic concepts as well as novel quantitative data analysis based on shaking data. A dataset of relevant global earthquake ground shaking from 1960 to 2016 based on USGS ShakeMap data has been constructed and applied to the determination of past ground shaking worldwide. Two new definitions of earthquake location (the shaking center and the shaking centroid) based on ground motion parameters are introduced and compared to the epicenter. These definitions are intended to facilitate a translation of the concept of earthquake location from a seismology context to a geographic context. Furthermore, the first global quantitative analysis on the size of the area that is on average exposed to strong ground motion – measured by peak ground acceleration (PGA) – is provided.

What the Mona Lisa and a Screwdriver Have in Common

2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-104
Author(s):  
Amrei Bahr
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Philosophy Of Art ◽  
Art And Technology ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Technical Artifacts ◽  
Mona Lisa ◽  
Technical Functions ◽  
And Function

In philosophy – especially in philosophy of technology and philosophy of art –, several specific accounts of artifact functionality have been developed. These accounts usually have a restricted scope: they are clearly limited to either technical artifacts or entities of art. In this paper, a contrasting account will be developed, which aims at covering both functions of technical artifacts and functions of art works as well as their instances. The paper is in two parts: In the first part, the method of specifying desiderata that Houkes and Vermaas have introduced to develop their theory of technical functions is adopted. Drawing on exemplary (failed) function ascriptions referring to items of art and technology, four desiderata are presented, all of which an account has to meet to provide a convincing analysis of both function ascriptions to technical artifacts and function ascriptions to art works and their instances. In the second part, an account that meets these desiderata is developed.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. Labrador ◽  
Neil Asher Silberman
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Cognitive Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Methodological Approaches

The field of cultural heritage is no longer solely dependent on the expertise of art and architectural historians, archaeologists, conservators, curators, and site and museum administrators. It has dramatically expanded across disciplinary boundaries and social contexts and now includes vernacular architecture, intangible cultural practices, knowledge, and language, performances, and rituals, as well as cultural landscapes. Heritage has become entangled with the broader social, political, and economic contexts in which heritage is created, managed, transmitted, protected, or destroyed. Heritage protection now encompasses a growing set of methodological approaches whose objectives are not necessarily focused upon the maintenance of material fabric, traditionally cultural heritage’s primary concern. Rather, these objectives have become explicitly social with methods foregrounding public engagement, diverse values, and community-based action. Thus, we introduce the term “public heritage” as a way of bringing together these emerging practices. This handbook charts major sites of convergence between the humanities and the social sciences—where new disciplinary perspectives are being brought to bear on public heritage. This introduction outlines the potential contributions of development studies, political science, anthropology, management studies, human geography, ecology, psychology, sociology, cognitive studies, and education to the field of public heritage.

Power, Class, and Family: Men and Women in the Mexican Elite, 1750-1810

1983 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Tutino
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Economic Power ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Class Membership ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Landed Elite

This essay explores the social relations within a landed elite—the dominant class in eighteenth-century Mexico. It aims to outline the nature of the powers that sustained that elite, to determine who directly exercised those powers, and to detail the relations between those pivotal powerholders and the remaining majority of elite class members. My primary concern, then, is the relationship between elite power and class membership.That, in turn, brings atttention to the roles of elite men and women, and the relations between them. Powerholders were usually men while class membership was shared equally between men and women. Was the internal structure of the elite thus based on sexual stratification? Were men able to be powerful and thus wealthy, while women could be wealthy only through subordination to a powerful man? To a great extent, that was true. But the majority of men within the Mexican elite were also wealthy while subordinate to a powerful man. And in a few notable cases, elite women exercised great power while men and women lived as their dependents. Sex was not the only principle of stratification among late colonial Mexican elites. Rather, sexual differentiation interacted with inequalities primarily based on economic power. This essay attempts to study the relations between economic power and sexual differentiation to approach an understanding of life within the late colonial landed elite in Mexico.

The Medical Drug as a Technological Object

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67
Author(s):  
Jonathan Simon ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Phenomenological Philosophy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Technological Object ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Medical Drug ◽  
Dimensions Of Technology

This article considers the medical drug as a technological object, in order to determine what philosophy of technology can bring to the study of pharmaceuticals and what the study of medical drugs can bring to the philosophy of technology. This approach will allow us to locate the differences between the medical drug and other objects that usually form the focus for studies in the philosophy of technology, and to discuss the problematic fit of the models proposed in the field to pharmaceuticals. After reflecting on the origins of this problem in both the philosophy of pharmacy and the philosophy of technology, I propose an examination of medical drugs using an analytical schema developed by Andrew Feenberg. I expose several shortcomings of this ‘post-phenomenological’ philosophy of technology applied to medical drugs. Despite the various problems identified, I nevertheless argue that the philosophy of technology is useful for thinking about medical drugs, particularly because of the emphasis it places on the social and political dimensions of technology. In conclusion, I argue in favour of a more open, eclectic philosophical engagement with medical drugs that puts more emphasis on their economic, social and political dimensions.

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