Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control as a Theme in Political Thought
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Book Overview
The truth of the matter is that our deficiency does not lie in the want of well-verified "facts." What we lack is our bearings. The contemporary experience of things technological has repeatedly confounded our vision, our expectations, and our capacity to make intelligent judgments. Categories, arguments, conclusions, and choices that would have been entirely obvious in earlier times are obvious no longer. Patterns of perceptive thinking that were entirely reliable in the past now lead us systematically astray. Many of our standard conceptions of technology reveal a disorientation that borders on dissociation from reality. And as long as we lack the ability to make our situation intelligible, all of the "data" in the world will make no difference. From the Introduction
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0262730499
ISBN13:9780262730495
Release Date:August 1978
Publisher:MIT Press
Length:396 Pages
Weight:1.11 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"
Age Range:18 years and up
Grade Range:Postsecondary and higher
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Superb intro to politics of technology
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
This book is simply the best introduction to the philosophy and politics of technology. No competition. Winner discusses a wide range of literature on the subject, from authors such as Jacques Ellul, Marx, Heidegger, and others. He uses these ideas as a springboard to cover many of the ideas they brought up with much more depth and clarity. Some of the most interesting ideas discussed include (amongst others): * "Reverse adaptation" -- when technologies force us to modify our ends/goals/purposes in order to meet the needs of our means/tools/techniques * "Technological imperative" -- how technology changes the structure of human societies, even before they have been put into use (e.g. in order to create an environment conducive to their use) * "Neutrality" -- Winner smashes the myth of tools being "neutral" (the idea that tools can't be inherently good or bad, and that only the way they are *used* can be good/bad) Don't be put off by the fact that the book was originally published back in the 1970s -- the ideas are every bit as applicable (much more so actually...) today as they were then. Highly recommended.
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