The Philosophy of Technology

Author(s):  
Susan Ella George

We start by outlining some of the problems concerning technology and society that have led people to reflect upon it. One of the most poignant questions is that of “technological determinism” and the extent to which technology is “under control” vs. the extent to which it controls society. The speed of change, the assumption that technology is beneficial, the uptake and geographical spread of technology across cultures, and the extent to which technology creates a never-ending cycle of increased complexity are just some of the “issues” that require examination in the question of technology’s impact upon society.

Author(s):  
Natasha S. Mauthner ◽  
Karolina A. Kazimierczak

This chapter explores four theoretical perspectives on technology and society — technological determinism, social constructivism, actor network theory (ANT), and posthumanism — and situates them within current empirical research on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and family dynamics. Technological determinism theorises the relationship between technological and social change that informs academic, policy and popular accounts about the place of technology in everyday life. Social constructivist approaches to technology include ‘social shaping of technology’, ‘social construction of technology’ and ‘technological systems’ perspectives. The chapter also explains the main assumptions of ANT and posthumanist approaches before proceeding with a discussion of how technological determinism, social constructivism and ANT have implicitly or explicitly shaped empirical research on ICTs and family life. It concludes by considering the implications of posthumanism for research on ICTs and family life.


Author(s):  
Kerry Lee

There are many different philosophies of technology and probably just as many interpretations as to what these philosophies actually mean. This chapter summarises the leading philosophies, and their proponents. It does not spend time on the semantics of each philosophy but rather provides an overall explanation and historical placing of each notion. Although this chapter focuses on adult education, it is also important to make links with the classroom. In doing so it provides the valid justification for inclusion and application of the theory it contains. This will enable teachers to reflect on their own philosophy of technological innovations. In doing so it is hoped, they will gain the confidence and ability to expose their children to these ideas. Children need to understand that technology has a key role in our society, and as members of society people have an important role in managing the development and use of technology. By studying the philosophy of technology, children will recognize the interaction between technology and society and enable them to be fully technologically literate citizens.


Author(s):  
Andoni Alonso ◽  
Sergio D’Antonio

La historia de la filosofía de la tecnología y los estudios CTS (Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad) se remontan al menos hasta principios del siglo XX. Ortega es, sin duda, el inaugurador de una tradición que todavía se desarrolla. A pesar de que ciertamente sufrió un desarrollo un tanto marginal como especialidad filosófica, ha habido una muy variada producción de textos sobre estos temas, tal como Carl Mitcham ha descrito en varios artículos y libros. En este artículo se trata de proponer así un esbozo para una posible recapitulación de lo que ha significado este siglo de pensamiento español al respecto.


Revista Labor ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (18) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Nilo Silva Pereira Netto ◽  
Domingos Leite Lima Filho

O texto que apresentamos, trata-se de um esforço teórico de compreensão das diferentes apropriações do conceito de tecnologia no campo de estudos sobre o trabalho e a educação no Brasil. No país, os debates acadêmicos sobre as relações entre trabalho e educação vêm ocorrendo sob a forte influência do prisma metodológico do materialismo histórico e dialético. Dessa forma, a escolha pela compreensão do locus da categoria tecnologia, no escopo da teoria marxiana, adquire centralidade nesta pesquisa, cujo caminho parece não ter sido suficientemente explicitado e debatido no contexto das mediações entre trabalho, tecnologia e educação. A referida opção encontra, todavia, uma celeuma a enfrentar, posta no interior dos Estudos Sociais sobre Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade, área onde movimentos, pesquisas acadêmicas e outros agentes disputam acalorado debate acerca da relação tecnologia e sociedade. Nesse campo, encontra-se uma forte tendência de classificação do pensamento marxiano no âmbito do determinismo tecnológico. No contraponto dessa rotulação, o texto divulga resultados parciais de uma tese em andamento que procura realizar dois movimentos: 1) Compreender os argumentos taxativos ao determinismo tecnológico no campo dos estudos sobre tecnologia e sociedade e dar a eles um tratamento analítico à luz da teoria marxiana, refutando tal classificação. 2) Analisar a produção do campo trabalho e educação no Brasil por meio da leitura e reflexão a partir da disseminação das pesquisas no interior do grupo Trabalho e Educação da ANPED, explicitando como a conceituação de tecnologia vem sendo adotada nas últimas décadas por esse agrupamento de intelectuais.ABSTRACTThe text is a theoretical effort to understand the different appropriations of the concept of technology in the field of Work and Education Studies in Brazil. In the country, academic debates about the relationship between work and education have been taking place under the strong influence of the historical and dialectical materialism methodological perspective. Therefore, understanding the locus of the technology category within the scope of Marxian theory becomes central to this research, path that seems to have not been described and debated enough in the context of the mediations between work, technology and education. This option, however, faces a controversy within the Social Studies on Science, Technology and Society, where social movements, academic research and other agents engage on a heated debate about the relationship between technology and society. In the field there is a strong tendency to classify Marxian thought in the context of technological determinism. Countering this labeling, the text discloses partial results of an ongoing thesis that seeks to: 1) Understand the taxonomic arguments against technological determinism in the field of Technology and Society Studies and give them an analytical treatment in the light of Marxian theory, refuting such classification. 2) Analyze the production on Work and Education in Brazil through a close reading of the research carried out by the Work and Education group of ANPED, explaining how the conceptualization of technology has been adopted in the last decades by this group of intellectuals.


First Monday ◽  
2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Jordan

This article outlines the nature of hacking and then draws implications from this for understandings of technology and society in the digital age. Hacking is analysed as having a material practice related to computers and networks taken up by two core groups: crackers who break into other people's computers and network and the Free Software and Open Source who produce software based on an understanding of property as distribution. Hacking works constantly to develop determinations between technology and society in both directions. This conclusion is then theorised in relation to Hutchby's concept of affordances and is compared to classic accounts of technological determinism. Accounts of technology and society in the digital age need to consider both technological and social determinations, that such determinations are particularly fluid in relation to programming and that understanding power and politics in relation technology needs a concept of technological and determination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-464
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Simons ◽  
Mauritz Kelchtermans ◽  
Lode Lauwaert ◽  

It is commonly accepted that technology and society have always been intertwined. The question is rather how we should understand that relation. This introduction to the special issue ‘Technology and Society’ gives a brief overview of the history of the questions related to this intertwinement. The special issue consists of six essays, emanating from presentations at the 2019 conference on Technology and Society at the Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven. It was organized by the Working Group on Philosophy of Technology (WGPT), whose aim is to promote philosophy of technology at the KU Leuven, but also more broadly in Belgium.


Author(s):  
Martin Bridgstock ◽  
David Burch ◽  
John Forge ◽  
John Laurent ◽  
Ian Lowe

Author(s):  
Henning Schmidgen

Gilbert Simondons Abhandlung Du mode d'existence des objets techniques (1958) operiert im Übergangsraum zwischen Heideggers Technikphilosophie und zeitgenössischer Kybernetik. Darüber hinaus skizziert Simondon ein explizit politisches Programm, das in der Forderung kulminiert, die technischen Objekte durch menschliche Repräsentanten in der Kultur der heutigen Gesellschaft besser zur Geltung zu bringen. Grundlage für dieses Programm ist seine Auffassung des technischen »Dings« als Medium. </br></br>Gilbert Simondon's essay (1958 [On the mode of being of technical objects]) operates in the transitional space between Heidegger's philosophy of technology and contemporary cybernetics. Furthermore, Simondon outlines an explicitly political program that culminates in the demand to emphasize the status of technical objects in the culture of contemporary society by way of human representatives. The basis for this program is his conception of the technical »thing« as a medium.


Author(s):  
Margareta Strandberg Olofsson

A number of vessels in Black impasto, also known as “Impasto buccheroide”, are presented here. The decoration shows a combination of relief, incision and excision. Typical of this specific kind of Black impasto are excised zoomorphic figures, predominantly horses, and rows of excised wedges or “wolf’s teeth”. The find contexts are accounted for and the conclusion is that Black impasto is present in all building periods in the monumental area at Acquarossa. The decorative elements are combined in a way that forms variants which can be placed in a chronological sequence, earlier ones with horses and wolf’s teeth and later ones without zoomorphic figures but still with wolf’s teeth, executed slightly differently and combined with grooves and pit lines. The geographical spread of this particular kind of Black impasto seems to be fairly limited and the production may have been rather local. The chronological span is the last part of the 7th century BC and the first half of the 6th. There is also a discussion of with which buildings in the different periods these vessels may have been associated. In this connection, a previously unpublished hypothesis is presented about the location, extension and appearance of what might have been the earliest building in the monumental area.


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