Critical Theory of Technology: an Overview Andrew Feenberg
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Critical Legal Theory and Local Social Thought
University of Pennsylvania Law Review FOUNDED 1852 Formerly American Law Register VOL. 133 APRIL 1985 No. 4 THE POLITICS OF REASON: CRITICAL LEGAL THEORY AND LOCAL SOCIAL THOUGHT JAMES BOYLEt TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................... 687 I. THE LINEAGE OF THEORY .......................... 691 Q Copyright 1985 by James Boyle. All rights reserved. t Assistant Professor, Washington College of Law, American University. LL.B. 1980, Glasgow University; LL.M. 1981, Harvard University. Some of the research for this project was completed while I was a Frank Knox Fellow at Harvard Law School. The Washington College of Law Research Fund gave valuable assistance throughout the preparation of the manuscript. Parts of this Article were prefigured in a set of introductory materials prepared for the Eighth National Conference on Critical Legal Studies, held in Washington, D.C., March 15-17, 1984. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to make comments on those materials. In particular, Anthony Chase and L.H. LaRue gave me the benefit of thoughtful written criticisms. Mark Tushnet, Burt Wechsler, and the rest of the D.C. Planning Group helped with suggestions, en- couragement, and deadlines. Andy Lichterman taught me about Habermas, and Gun- ther Frankenburg gave me the (probably misplaced) confidence to write about him. The Kennedys, Duncan and David, provided more help and support than I can ac- knowledge here. Gary Peller supplied endless reassurance, adrenalin, friendship, and a vision of Lukacs "on the wild side." He was also kind enough to show me his (as yet unpublished) manuscript, The Metaphysics of American Law, which greatly influenced this Article. -
What Is That Thing Called Philosophy of Technology? - R
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Vol. IV - What Is That Thing Called Philosophy of Technology? - R. J. Gómez WHAT IS THAT THING CALLED PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY? R. J. Gómez Department of Philosophy. California State University (LA). USA Keywords: Adorno, Aristotle, Bunge, Ellul, Feenberg, Habermas, Heidegger, Horkheimer, Jonas, Latour, Marcuse, Mumford, Naess, Shrader-Frechette, artifact, assessment, determinism, ecosophy, ends, enlightenment, efficiency, epistemology, enframing, ideology, life-form, megamachine, metaphysics, method, naturalistic, fallacy, new, ethics, progress, rationality, rule, science, techno-philosophy Contents 1. Introduction 2. Locating technology with respect to science 2.1. Structure and Content 2.2. Method 2.3. Aim 2.4. Pattern of Change 3. Locating philosophy of technology 4. Early philosophies of technology 4.1. Aristotelianism 4.2. Technological Pessimism 4.3. Technological Optimism 4.4. Heidegger’s Existentialism and the Essence of Technology 4.5. Mumford’s Megamachinism 4.6. Neomarxism 4.6.1. Adorno-Horkheimer 4.6.2. Marcuse 4.6.3. Habermas 5. Recent philosophies of technology 5.1. L. Winner 5.2. A. Feenberg 5.3. EcosophyUNESCO – EOLSS 6. Technology and values 6.1. Shrader-Frechette Claims 6.2. H Jonas 7. Conclusions SAMPLE CHAPTERS Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary A philosophy of technology is mainly a critical reflection on technology from the point of view of the main chapters of philosophy, e.g., metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. Technology has had a fast development since the middle of the 20th century , especially ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Vol. IV - What Is That Thing Called Philosophy of Technology? - R. -
The Impact of New Technologies on the Development of Architecture Julia Walker
The Impact of New Technologies on the Development of Architecture Julia Walker A view of the history of architectural technology can help us understand the stakes involved in the construction of buildings of different periods, styles, and structural systems. It can also help clarify why certain forms arose at particular moments in history, at specific sites, and under specific conditions. In all eras and geographical locations, technological innovation has influenced the development of architecture. This innovation has taken various forms—sometimes manifesting as new materials, either manmade or natural, and sometimes as new design tools or structural methods. The practical necessities of any given moment determine the technology that will arise to suit these demands, whether it relates to shelter, fortification, or religious ideas. Technology has been used to solve practical problems, but also to create symbolic orders, such as the assertion of human will over natural forces that arose in prehistoric building. Since antiquity, architects have stressed the significance of such knowledge to their field; the Roman architect and theorist Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (see box text on p. 174), for example, was trained as an engineer and frequently underscored the importance of technological understanding to the execution of architecture. In fact, we see this theme repeated in architectural theory across the globe. The Manasara-silpasastra, a seventh- century Indian building manual named for its author (see box text on p. 273), and the Chinese treatise Yingzao Fashi by Li Jie, a Song Dynasty book of architectural standards (see box text on p. 435), likewise argue that no architect can prosper without a thorough technical education. -
Technophilia, Neo-Luddism, Edependency and the Judgement of Thamus, Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol
Deakin Research Online This is the authors’ final peer reviewed (post print) version of the item published as: Coulthard, Darryl and Keller, Susan 2012, Technophilia, neo-Luddism, eDependency and the judgement of Thamus, Journal of information, communication and ethics in society, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 262-272. Available from Deakin Research Online: http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30049517 Reproduced with the kind permission of the copyright owner. Copyright : 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited Technophilia, neo-Luddism, eDependency and the judgement of Thamus The Authors Darryl Coulthard, School of Information Systems, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia Susan Keller, School of Information Systems, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on society's relationship with technology and particularly our increasing dependence on electronic technology – so-called eDependency. The paper argues that technology is not neutral and we must engage with the moral issues that arise from our relationship with it. Design/methodology/approach – Society's relationship with technology is examined through the lens of Socrates' consideration of the technology of writing. It identifies “technophilia” as a major theme in society and “neo-Luddism” as the Socrates-like examination of the benefits of technology. Findings – While rejecting both technology determinism and technology presentism the paper argues technology is not neutral and does afford social change within a particular social ecology. The authors suggest that ultimately the use of all technology, including the technology underpinning eDependency, leads to important moral questions which deserve considered debate. The paper concludes by arguing that the Information Systems (IS) discipline should take the mantle of King Thamus and that the study of these issues should become a key concern for the discipline. -
Great Inventors of the Ancient World Preliminary Syllabus & Course Outline
CLA 46 Dr. Patrick Hunt Spring Quarter 2014 Stanford Continuing Studies http://www.patrickhunt.net Great Inventors Of the Ancient World Preliminary Syllabus & Course Outline A Note from the Instructor: Homo faber is a Latin description of humans as makers. Human technology has been a long process of adapting to circumstances with ingenuity, and while there has been gradual progress, sometimes technology takes a downturn when literacy and numeracy are lost over time or when humans forget how to maintain or make things work due to cataclysmic change. Reconstructing ancient technology is at times a reminder that progress is not always guaranteed, as when Classical civilization crumbled in the West, but the history of technology is a fascinating one. Global revolutions in technology occur in cycles, often when necessity pushes great minds to innovate or adapt existing tools, as happened when humans first started using stone tools and gradually improved them, often incrementally, over tens of thousands of years. In this third course examining the greats of the ancient world, we take a close look at inventions and their inventors (some of whom might be more legendary than actually known), such as vizier Imhotep of early dynastic Egypt, who is said to have built the first pyramid, and King Gudea of Lagash, who is credited with developing the Mesopotamian irrigation canals. Other somewhat better-known figures are Glaucus of Chios, a metallurgist sculptor who possibly invented welding; pioneering astronomer Aristarchus of Samos; engineering genius Archimedes of Siracusa; Hipparchus of Rhodes, who made celestial globes depicting the stars; Ctesibius of Alexandria, who invented hydraulic water organs; and Hero of Alexandria, who made steam engines. -
Critique of Technology (DRAFT) Stephen Petrina University of British Columbia
Chapter 2 Critique of Technology (DRAFT) Stephen Petrina University of British Columbia If critique barely changes a thing, including youth consciousness, what is its utility? Most critiques of media and technology are instrumental by definition and intended to have an effect or make a difference. If it has been enough for criticism and critique to offer a counter to progress narratives, then how effective has this been? Has the critique of media and technology run out of steam, as Latour (2004) suggests? If out of energy drawn from the steam age, should critique be retrofit to run on light and signals? Meantime, the trend in vaping may conceivably pressurize critique enough to sputter into the future. Is the critique of media and technology over time sufficiently prejudicial or probative? Instrumental or terminal? Accounting for prehistories of cultural evolution, where two hominids debate the merits of a stone implement or pictograph, the first and best critique of technology is Genesis. For over 2,500 years and to this moment, the Garden, Tree of Knowledge, Tower of Babel and Babylon are commonly raised to illustrate the fourfold of spirituality, nature, humanity and technology and accentuate critique. Critique of technology is given dimension in Revelation 18 and takes a form of uncompromising judgment (Greek krino, krisis, Latin iudicium, discrimen) of merchants and luxuries as YHWH proceeds to level Babylon. This chapter begins with the spiritual critique of media and technology and proceeds historically through cultural criticism and social, psychic, ontic, and identic critiques. Differentiated from the spiritual critique that precedes, cultural criticism of media and technology emerges in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as a mode of describing and depicting the mechanical arts. -
Human Brain Evolution, Theories of Innovation, and Lessons
MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science 2004 PREPRINT 254 Alfred Gierer Human Brain Evolution, Theories of Innovation, and Lessons from the History of Technology Human Brain Evolution, Theories of Innovation, and Lessons from the History of Technology1 Alfred Gierer Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology, T¨ubingen Abstract Biological evolution and technological innovation, while differing in many respects, also share common features. In particular, the implementation of a new technology in the market is analogous to the spreading of a new genetic trait in a population. Technological innovation may occur either through the accumulation of quantitative changes, as in the development of the ocean clipper, or it may be initiated by a new combination of features or subsystems, as in the case of steamships. Other examples of the latter type are electric networks that combine the generation, distribution, and use of electricity, and containerized transportation that combines standardized containers, logistics, and ships. Biological evolution proceeds, phenotypically, in many small steps, but at the genetic level novel features may arise not only through the accumulation of many small, common mutational changes, but also when dis- tinct, relatively rare genetic changes are followed by many further mutations. New evolutionary directions may be initiated by, in particular, some rare combinations of regulatory sections within the genome. The combinatorial type of mechanism may not be a logical prerequisite for bio- logical innovation, but it can be efficient, especially when novel features arise out of already highly developed systems. Such is the case with the evolution of general, widely applicable capabilities of the human brain. -
Freud and Critical Legal Studies: Contours of a Radical Socio-Legal Psychoanalysis David S
Indiana Law Journal Volume 66 | Issue 3 Article 1 Summer 1991 Freud and Critical Legal Studies: Contours of a Radical Socio-Legal Psychoanalysis David S. Caudill Washington & Lee University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj Part of the Law and Psychology Commons, and the Legal History Commons Recommended Citation Caudill, David S. (1991) "Freud and Critical Legal Studies: Contours of a Radical Socio-Legal Psychoanalysis," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 66 : Iss. 3 , Article 1. Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol66/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Freud and Critical Legal Studies: Contours of a Radical Socio-Legal Psychoanalysis DAVID S. CAUDILL* "The success of critical legal studies will be in part deternuned by the extent to which they succeed in bringing together the diverse theoretical traditions on which they seek to draw."' INTRODUCTION 2 In the growing literature associated with Critical Legal Studies ("CLS"), 3 one occasionally reads that the movement, in part, employs Freudian ideas. The same is said of the Frankfurt School, 4 but one can easily point to the writings of Herbert Marcuse' and Ench Fromm6 for unambiguous devel- opments and revisions of Freud's work. While numerous references to Freudian psychoanalysis or social. theory appear in CLS scholarship,7 the connection between Freud and CLS is not clear. -
Design Without Causality: Heidegger's Impossible
DESIGN WITHOUT CAUSALITY: HEIDEGGER’S IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGE FOR ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE GLEN HILL Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia [email protected] Abstract Deploying Martin Heidegger’s thinking on technology, this paper attempts to show an internal contradiction inherent in our technologically oriented approach to sustainable design. Heidegger’s thinking on technology, which has had an influence both on the ecological movement and on architecture, situates the problematic shift toward modern technology at the beginning of the enlightenment with the emergence of new understandings of both the subject and the object. Each of these revolutionary understandings contribute to the reframing of nature as knowable and (therefore) controllable. Nature thus moves from a position of mystery and wonder to that of a disenchanted, predictable system, allowing the appearance of a technological orientation in which nature is framed in advance as something simply manipulable for our benefit. Unlike the Classical Realist account of nature that emerged from the enlightenment separation of subject and object, Heidegger’s formulation of the real, of nature, does not allow the same confidence in causality and control. However, design, as the engine of technological innovation in modernity, appears inseparable from the modern technological understanding of causality and control and the framing of nature as a mere resource. This problematises the possibility that design, as it is currently conceived, can contribute to achieving an ecological sustainable relation to nature. Keywords: technology, Heidegger, ecological, sustainable, design. 1 Introduction Any discussion of technology would be incomplete without consideration of the thinking of Martin Heidegger. -
Logic and Methodology of Science: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Science 1 P
CONTENTS CONTENTS HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY History and Philosophy of Science and Technology - Volume 1 No. of Pages: 402 ISBN: 978-1-84826-323-9 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-773-2 (Print Volume) History and Philosophy of Science and Technology - Volume 2 No. of Pages: 416 ISBN: 978-1-84826-324-6 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-774-9 (Print Volume) History and Philosophy of Science and Technology - Volume 3 No. of Pages: 394 ISBN: 978-1-84826-325-3 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-775-6 (Print Volume) History and Philosophy of Science and Technology - Volume 4 No. of Pages: 412 ISBN: 978-1-84826-326-0 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-776-3 (Print Volume) For more information on e-book(s) and Print Volume(s) order, please click here Or contact : [email protected] ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CONTENTS VOLUME I Logic and Methodology of Science: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science 1 P. Lorenzano, National University of Quilmes (UNQ), Argentina National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Argentina 1. Introduction: Nature and function of the Philosophy of Science 1.1. The Metascientific Studies 1.2. The Philosophical Theorization about Science or Philosophy of Science 1.2.1. Its Nature and Relationship with Other Metascientific Disciplines 1.2.2. The Distinction between General and Special Philosophy of Science 1.2.3. The Distinction between Synchronic and Diachronic Philosophy of Science 1.2.4. A Brief History of the Philosophy of Science 2. -
Education + Technology + Innovation = Learning? T
Thank you for downloading Education + Technology + Innovation = Learning? T. V. Joe Layng and Janet S. Twyman from the Center on Innovations in Learning website www.centeril.org This report is in the public domain. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, it should be cited as: Layng, T. V. J., & Twyman, J. S. (2013). Education + technology + innovation = learning? In M. Murphy, S. Redding, & J. Twyman (Eds.), Handbook on innovations in learning (pp. 13 –1 ). Philadelphia, PA: Center on Innovations in Learning, Temple University; Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.3 48 Retrieved from http://www.centeril.org/ 2 <body> e = mc2 e = mc </body> </html> Part 3 Technology in Learning Innovation Education + Technology + Innovation = Learning? T.V. Joe Layng and Janet S. Twyman Close your eyes, and think of the word “technology.” What thoughts and images come to mind? Your smart phone? Computers? Hardware or digital head? Now, pause to pay attention to the feelings that you associate with “tech- nology”?things, or Do information you feel comfortable, in bits and bytes or sense floating stirrings around of concern? in the “cloud” Is there above eager your- Technology is the use and knowledge of tools, techniques, systems, or meth- ness, or do you have a sense that things could very easily be out of control? ods in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. What we view as new technology evolves and advances persistently. A technological innovation— stone tools—is said to be a driver behind early human migration (Jacobs et al., 2008). Agriculture and pottery were innovative “technologies” to our Neolithic - ancestors (Cole, 1970), as was the light bulb to Edison and his contemporaries (Hargadon & Douglas, 2001). -
Classical Ethics in A/IS
The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Classical Ethics in A/IS We applied classical ethics methodologies to considerations of algorithmic design in autonomous and intelligent systems (A/IS) where machine learning may or may not reflect ethical outcomes that mimic human decision-making. To meet this goal, we drew from classical ethics theories and the disciplines of machine ethics, information ethics, and technology ethics. As direct control over tools becomes further removed, creators of autonomous systems must ask themselves how cultural and ethical presumptions bias artificially intelligent creations. Such introspection is more necessary than ever because the precise and deliberate design of algorithms in self-sustained digital systems will result in responses based on such design. By drawing from over two thousand years’ worth of classical ethics traditions, we explore established ethics systems, including both philosophical traditions (utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and deontological ethics) and religious and culture-based ethical systems (Buddhism, Confucianism, African Ubuntu traditions, and Japanese Shinto) and their stance on human morality in the digital age.1 In doing so, we critique assumptions around concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, and we attempt to carry these inquiries into artificial systems’ decision-making processes. Through reviewing the philosophical foundations that define autonomy and ontology, we address the potential for autonomous capacity of artificially intelligent systems, posing questions of morality in amoral systems and asking whether decisions made by amoral systems can have moral consequences. Ultimately, we address notions of responsibility and accountability for the decisions made by autonomous systems and other artificially intelligent technologies.