The main argument this book explores is not between humanists and scientists, but between technology and everybody else. Most people believe that technology is a friend. It is a friend that asks for trust and obedience, which most give because its gifts are bountiful. The dark side it that it creates a culture without moral foundation, undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life worth living. Technology is both a friend and enemy. The book tries to explain when, how and why technology became a particularly dangerous enemy.…
Postman then states, “Those who are most comfortable in Technopoly are those who are convinced that technical progress is humanity’s supreme achievement…” (p.71) clearly pointing out it’s only some who are comfortable in a Technopoly, not all. With this and his first statement, he contradicts himself and lets us know it’s not all of society but a few that view technology with such high regard. There are many people out there in society that refuse to have cell phones or use a computers simply because it’s not something they believe is necessary for them. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any articles to support my case, and at the current moment, I sound like Neil Postman but on the other side of the fence. Although technology has overrun our homes, schools and workplace, it hasn’t taken over completely to where we seek it’s approval, worship it, or can’t live without it. Too many times there are people that actually want to get away from their technological devices because they’re so connected to…
The attitudes that the Chinese Han dynasty and the Romans conveyed towards technology depended on the government’s views on technology and also the relationship of the government with its people and laborers, but ultimately it would benefit the people and contribute to the development of society. Technology was vital to a society because it made the decreased work for laborers significantly, as in Documents 3 and 4. Documents 1, 6, and 8 display how, in order for a society to develop, the growth of technology is essential. Document 2 shows how a government’s view on technology can influence whether or not it can be beneficial to society or not. Whether or not technology contributes to society also depends on how the state chooses to utilize it, which is expressed in Documents 5 and 7. The place in the social hierarchy the authors of the documents were from certainly was influential in how the author viewed technology. It was displayed in the tone of the writing whether it showed sympathy towards the people, spoke lowly of the people, or spoke highly of certain people who influenced technology. An additional document portraying a commoner’s attitude toward technology would be helpful to gain a wider view of the affect of technology on society. It would show whether or not the people of a state agreed with their rulers’ views on technology. Although the attitudes toward technology varied between the Han Chinese and the Romans, in the end, technology would be utilized to improve society.…
According to Langdon Winner, “Our society needs to establish forms and limits for a technological change that derive from a positively articulated idea of what society ought to be. (p.52)” With this powerful thought, Winner has presented an alternate route to evaluate the ethics of technology and practice of engineering. It is important that individuals develop technology that is compatible with the kind of society they want to build (p.52). Thus, it is significant to scrutinize three constituents of philosophy of technology namely political, social and ethical.…
Technology would have not existed if it were not the effort of human being since technology requires growth in order to keep it going. Technology is organic life with diverse evolution like living organism since they share similar disequilibria states. As a point of fact, Kelly’s analogies are surrounded by the growing advancement in technologies, complexities in the technological assemblage of a microscopic organism. Therefore, the direction of technology is regarded as the direction of living organism more especially in the advancement of new…
In this essay I will argue that technology does not ensure progress. The first main concept that needs to be clarified is 'technology'. This paper acknowledges the concept 'technology' as being the application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives. The other key concept 'progress' in this essay is defined as a steady improvement, as a society or civilization. I am arguing that the concept of technology does not ensure the concept of progress because there are certain technologies that have hurt society in various ways. Furthermore, not all technologies ensure progress.…
“In just the past decade or two… [With] the increasing importance of technology in our world… science and technology are just as amenable to social analysis as politics or religion.”[1] The effects that technology has on society and vice versa have changed and evolved since the Technological Revolution of the late 19th century, just as the technology has. “Scholars now talk about how the push and pull between technology and society, rather than just the push of technology on society.”[1]…
Technology is best described as machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge and is made mainly to ‘better’ the life of human beings but some technological devices created by scientists cause more harm than good to human beings which is something technology is originally not intended to do.…
To understand the characteristics of humans and technology it is important to define their interpretation and some researchers’ concept of the subjects to see if there is any overlap between the two. Vaknin, (2002) describes that a human being shows behavioural unpredictability, and can rationalise decisions based on moral judgment. Humans use basic survival instinct to evolve by manipulating their social and physical environment i.e. technology, which will be one of the points covered in this paper. Suggesting that humans have qualities to show they are still in control of their own destiny. One of humanities strengths is they are aware of their own mortality, backed up with the expression of free will. In contrast to Selinsky (2011) who believes that the human body is a technology itself and a multidimensional self-building, self-making machine when the ‘machine’ (our body) gets out of balance. Whose view is human and technology are one that has the ability to adapt, learn and build on itself. An opinion seconded by Kurzweil, (2008) who has the perception that switching machine off replicating human intelligence implies forms of…
The “Industrial Society and Its Future” by Ted Kaczunski discusses the issue of the industrial-technological system and the disastrous effect it has had on human nature and race. According to Kaczynski, even though technology has advanced and benefited human race in many ways, it has also dehumanized them. Artificial technology has had a negative impact on humankind as it has degraded the culture and caused widespread environmental destruction. Kaczynski asserts that technology is ever-growing and as it advances, it will lead to the mankind’s downfall. As technology has grown, we have lost our freedom, and if the industrial technological system does not break down, humans will be doomed in the future as they will be reduced to responding to…
Technology is not something that one can ignore, as it is being developed all the time around us, and is included everyday of our lives. Technology shapes the world and has both positive and negative effects. Technology has made huge advancements in society. People can save more time, receive better education, faster communication, advance health services, as well as many other benefits. However, modern technology might cause problems too. In “The Back draft of Technology” Stephanie Alaimo and Mark Koester discuss many disadvantages of modern technology in society. They state that because of the increasing use modern technology, a growing number of people are observing more problems now more than ever. Problems such as unemployment, losing human interaction, bad economy, and so much more than one can imagine are bad effects of advance technology. The tone of the essay is not optimistic on mechanization in every area of life. Alaimo and Koester give warning to their readers about negative causes and effects of mechanization at present time and also in the future. Alaimo and Koester are correct. Although technology helps human beings to adapt an easier way of life, in the long term it might not be as helpful as people realize, and it could bring too many problems such as unfair competition, unemployment, and complex life for society.…
Can you possibly imagine living in today’s society without technology? Most would say that life would be so difficult to live in without having the technological assistance to satisfy them. Ever since the human race came into existence, we have strived to invent tools that can be used in our daily life in order to comfort and relieve us. Even the smallest things require some sort of technology. For example in order to talk to someone outside your immediate vicinity you use a phone. It’s come to the point that people depend on it. The irony is man believes that since they built technology they automatically have control over it. However, our dependency on technology is so overwhelming that we lose our control over it. Ralph Waldo Emerson clearly states this in his poem “Ode, inscribed to W.H. Channing. David E. Nye’s essay, on the other hand, presents the history of the advancement of technology that humans face. To be specific, Nye uses cases that involve Japan’s culture and traditions, Marx’s point of view of technology, the Victorians dilemma with technology, and many other examples to convey his complicated opinion of technological determinism. Although both historians present varying thoughts about this idea of technological determinism, I personally agree with Emerson on that humans are not capable of controlling their own innovations at this point in today’s world.…
It seems characteristic of most anti-utopias that technology, as portrayed therein, has acquired a definitely hostile and dangerous quality, becoming almost synonymous with dehumanization. It has ceased to serve as a tool employed by mankind in a profitable way for the sake of widespread prosperity and happiness, and has become a supreme force able to impose obedience on men. It may be stated that the natural order of things, as presented in utopian writing, has been…
It seems odd to me to write a paper about the importance of technology in education. While there may still be skeptics within the field of education, I would imagine that most people would agree that a technology rich environment enhances a child's education at least to some degree. Even teachers who are reluctant to infuse technology into their lesson plans would have to see the merit of students using technology consistently in classrooms. Most of the recent research articles I've read on technology and classroom learning conclude not only that there is an increase in student achievement in technology rich classroom environments, but also an increase in student motivation, especially among at risk students.…
Technology can be defined as the total of instruments and procedures that aims to dominate nature by transforming the outside material world and is also based on action in accordance with the scientific knowledge and engineering science (Clarke 2005, pg 137).…