Paul Munn says in his post “technology and the collective”:
…our mechanized and technologically-driven society tends to dehumanize us and detach us from the natural way of life God created us for. And much of our technological equipment even seems to push us further from each other and from God. But I’ve heard many people blame this on technology itself, as if it is somehow inherently evil, and I don’t agree with that. I think the problem is deeper.
I’ve written much about the idolatry of the social collective, how we organize and institutionalize gathered human beings to form “We, the People,” a power much greater than any one person, a terrible substitute for the Body of Christ. I think our technology, as it has developed, has become a clear reflection of the evils of the social collective. No advanced technology can develop apart from this organization of people, and it necessarily reflects the values of the group. Technological developments have to be funded and so are driven by money and the purposes of the group, because what serves them well is what sells. Technology doesn’t drive itself, though it seems to (yes, I’ve read Ellul’s book). And it doesn’t drive people. People are driven by the power of the collective, driven to develop technology in a certain direction and driven to use it and serve it—or be cut off from the group, the source of life.
I think technology (broadly defined) and the power of “We, the people” are almost the same idea (which is to say that both technology and “We, the people” are ideas). Wendell Berry, a good Luddite, demonstrated how his refusal of a certain technology (a computer) amounted to a great social rejection/offense/marginalization, even among otherwise sympathetic environmentalists. Foucault utilized the term “technologies of the self” to describe this similarity. Wikipedia explains the interaction or overlap like this:
According to Foucault, technologies of the self are the forms of knowledge and strategies that “permit individuals to effect by their own means or with the help of others a certain number of operations on their own bodies and souls, thoughts, conduct, and way of being, so as to transform themselves in order to attain a certain state of happiness, purity, wisdom, perfection, or immortality”…
Foucault argued that technologies of the self must be understood as inextricably linked to his notion of governmentality: the guiding rationalities whereby individuals and social structures regulate and police norms of thought and behavior. Burchell states, “government, is a ‘contact point’ where techniques of domination and technologies of the self ‘interact’. According to Foucault, this “contact point” is where “technologies of domination of individuals over one another have recourse to processes by which the individual acts upon himself and, conversely,…where techniques of the self are integrated into structures of coercion.”
Anyway, I’m not sure I necessarily disagree with Paul’s clarification about technology (not inherently evil), however, its connection and perhaps even similarity to the collective seems to merit more than just a toss-out neutrality.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Seems that younger folks are always more accepting of technology. Older folks tend to be more resistant (probably becuse they can remember older–perhaps better–ways).
Berry certainly has been a shining star when it comes to retaining older ways. The guy still farms with horses! And he was on the cutting edge of writing a coherent critique of our agricultural system. Good care should be taking in dismissing such a voice.
So what to do about technology? I haven\\\’t a clue.
Perhaps picking and choosing is best. And don\\\’t let technology get in the way of things that are proven. I still buy a newspaper. Why? Because local newspapers enhance community (or at least potentially can). I don\\\’t want to see them become dinosaurs.
As for electronic entertainment? Let the Wiis, PS3s, Xboxes dissolve into the dust bin. Better to take a walk, play real tennis, and get off our asses. Electronic games compete with our creaturliness.
Cell phones are a major problem…and cause a blight on both our environment and time. And I\\\’m not certain that they haven\\\’t been responsible for the honey bee collapse. And frankly, nobody talks to each other out in public because we are too damned busy texting and calling our micro-communities. I don\\\’t own one.
But that is the personal. What about the corporate? Technologies are best used when they conserve the Earth, increase knowledge and enhance community. Solar Panels over Nukes. MRI\\\’s and CT scans? Yup. Smart grids? I don\\\’t know. Maybe. Seems to me our local energy needs should be created from the local environment. I don\\\’t know if I want large wind farms slicing up geese in North Dakota or hundreds of square miles of solar panels in the Nevada desert.
As for Faucault? I don\\\’t get it..but then again, I never do with him.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Great points, Allan. I’m with Berry…on most things (though I doubt he ever bought a computer http://home2.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berrynot.html).
What do you think about Berry’s “standards for technological innovation” (circa 1987)?
1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.
Faucault is only interesting, personally, because he introduced me to postmodernism and because I think he might have been gay.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Охотно принимаю. Вопрос интересен, я тоже приму участие в обсуждении. Вместе мы сможем прийти к правильному ответу….
…our mechanized and technologically-driven society tends to dehumanize us and detach us from the natural way of life God created us for…..