Alternatives to Technological Determinism
(Ideas here are drawn from "Technology and Human Affairs" by Larry Hickman
and Al-Hibri, 1981)
The Image:
- Previous discussions of TD create a pessimistic image of
the future
- Ellul:
Humans are virtually helpless, the "value" of efficiency drives everything,
so that even the rejection of a technique involves the application of a new
technique. There is no plan and no control.
- Marcuse:
The technological system (technological rationality) has absorbed all- culture,
politics and the economy. "Freedom" itself has become part of the oppressive
reality of modern technological society as we define the range of choices
available to us only within the artificially constructed rational system-
Alienation. Only those outside the "system" can effect change over it- and
they are cut off (Transcendence).
But there are those who modify this harsh image:
- Arnold
Pacey: Tempers the determinist thesis. (1)The geometrical forward drive
of technological rationality is not smooth and uniform. (2)The human actor
(can) shapes history. (3)Interactivity is the key. The problem may well be
political- the image of autonomous technology leads to the hegemony of the
technocrat.
- Theodore
Roszak:
- "The Making of
a Counter-Culture"
- The issue is technocracy, the system of experts and their "rational
plans for efficiency. Technology is, perhaps, benign. The solution to
the problem is not radical choice, but human construction- community building.
- Technological "man" is like someone dependent on a powerful drug. The
"pusher" is the technocrat who continues to feed and expand the addiction.
Escape is difficult- but possible through community of individuals work
together.
- Technology is not "beyond control", but it is "out of control" and can
still be 'recalled.' It is a cultural rather than a political process
- Robert
Pirsig
- "Zen and
the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
- Technology confronts us with a double danger: Rejecting it without understanding
it leads to oppression and accepting it without critical understanding
leads to domination.
- One must both understand and use technology in order to effectively
critique it
- Others:
- John
Galbraith: "the autonomy of technology resembles ignorance"
- Marx:
History (and technology) proceeds along a rather preset course, yet human
freedom consists in understanding the processes of change and actively
participating
The significant thrust is that through a critical understanding of
the process of technological development, the human actor can participate and
control the course of change.
The Social
Construction of Technology
![](newline.gif)
URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/techsoc3.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated:
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 11:50