Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry

311 Pages·1987·24.262 MB·English

by  Albert Borgmann

Technology
and the
Character of
Contemporary
Life

Technology
and the
Character of
Contemporary
life
A Philosophical Inquiry
ALBERT BORGMANN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
Chicago and london
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGO 60637
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, LTD., LONDON
© 1984 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 1984
Paperback edition 1987
Printed in the United States of America
06 05 04 03 02 0 I 00 99 98 97 5 6 7 8 9
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Borgmann, Albert
Technology and the character of contemporary life.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I Technology-Philosophy. I. Title
Tl4.B63 1984 303.4'83 84-8639
ISBN 0-226-06629-0 (paper)
@ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of the American National Standard for
Information Sciences - Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Part One THE PROBLEM OF TECHNOLOGY I
1 Technology and Theory 3
2 Theories of Technology 7
3 The Choice of a Theory 12
4 Scientific Theory 15
5 Scientific Explanation 17
6 The Scope of Scientific Explanation 22
7 Science and Technology 26
Part Two THE CHARACTER OF TECHNOLOGY 33
8 The Promise of Technology 35
9 The Device Paradigm 40
10 The Foreground of Technology 48
11 Devices, Means, and Machines 57
12 Paradigmatic Explanation 68
13 Technology and the Social Order 78
14 Technology and Democracy 85
15 The Rule of Technology 101
16 Political Engagement and Social Justice 107
17 Work and Labor 114
18 Leisure, Excellence, and Happiness 124
19 The Stability of Technology 143
Part Three THE REFORM OF TECHNOLOGY ISS
20 The Possibilities of Reform 157
21 Deictic Discourse 169
22 The Challenge. of Nature 182
23 Focal Things and Practices 196
24 Wealth and the Good Life 210
25 Political Affirmation 226
26 The Recovery of the Promise of Tech- 246
nology
Notes 251
Index 293

Acknowledgments
This book is the summary of work that has occupied me for over a decade.
I
I have received help from many people. From John Winnie I have learned
to appreciate the power of the natural sciences. Henry Bugbee taught me to
affirm in my thinking what matters to me in life. Carl Mitcham's friendship
has been crucial to my working out a philosophy of technology. The staff,
the faculty, and the administration of the University of Montana have sup
ported my work generously. Finally, I am indebted to discussions with my
students.

PART 1
The Problem
of Technology
Part I of this study is introductory. The main topics are presented in Part 2
and in Part 3. The first of these major topics, is the character of contemporary
life. The modern world and contemporary life particularly, so I will argue,
have been shaped by technology, which has stamped them with a peculiar
pattern and so given them their character. But although our world bears the
imprint of technology, the pattern of technology is neither obvious nor ex
clusively dominant. It competes with and threatens to obliterate certain focal
things and practices that center and order our lives in a profoundly different
way. These focal concerns represent the other major theme of this inquiry.
Part 2, then, is intended to clarify and explicate the pattern of technology and
the prevailing character of our time. Given a clear and intelligent view of
technology, Part 3 is to show how in the midst of technology we can become
more conscious and confident of our focal concerns and how, against the
background of technology, we can give them a central and consequential place
in our lives.
These remarks must appear dubious and perhaps cryptic. They are so in
part because they are brief, but partly also because they summarize views at
variance with the common understanding of technology. A careful introduction
is thus needed to connect the major concerns of this book with current thought
on technology and to clear the ground for another way of approaching the
problem of technology. This is the task of Part I. It begins in Chapter I with
a more detailed sketch of the contrast between the established views of tech
nology and the position developed in this book. In particular, it provides
introductory illustrations of what is meant by the pattern of technology, the
pivot of Part 2, and by a matter of profound concern, the focus of Part 3. It
presents brief surveys of those two parts and, at the same time, clarifies the
significance of scholarship and method for the task before us.
In Chapter 2, the concept of technology that will guide this essay is ten
tatively sketched against the background of the presently dominant views of
technology. The perspective on theories of technology is further elaborated
in Chapter 3 through a comparison of the present classification with one