Humanities

Lecture #6
October 10 2013
Cempeting Theories of Technology
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Offering multiple understandings of what technology is and does

Questioning whether techonolgies (particularly information technology)
forster or hinder development of a more just and equitable society
Suggesting ways that technologies could be used for manipulation and or

Instrumental Theory/Neutrality Theory
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Premise: the technologies we use are inherently neutral

o It is the human use and applcation of these techonoloies that lead to
problematic social and environmental consequences
o technologies are tools and only toold
pure instrumentality tetechonlogies only cary the tools of
those who use them
social context neither determines nor shapes the usefulness of technologies
technology is rational
o the status of a technology is onstant in all contexts
o what
techonolgy is universal
o if we take a computer anywhere it is functional here and there, rmains
the same
o standards of measurement also transcend context
techonolgy is ultimately seen as a trade-off
o technical sphere is limited by non-technical values
ex. efficiency v. environmental impact

Substantive theory:
(kinda opposite)
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premise: there is some for of inner logic or dynamin in modern technologies

that results in particular social consequences
o technology as a cultural system
the world as shaped by a stimulating force inherent in
technogical systems
our social world is an object that can be controlled and
therefore manipulated
example: fast food for dinner (home context)
o made possible by variety of technologies

o meets the cultural norms of efficiency and speed

o often replaces the traditional practice of dinner with one;s family
nightly dinners as rituals which reaffirm the unity of the
family
what is lost when these rituals are no longer practiced or given
priority
possible instrumentalist respone to fast food example:
o well prepared fast food provides a nourishing mean without needless
social complications or distractions (eat for the sake of eating)
neglets the difference between eating (as mere consumption)
and the act of dining together
sharing a meal is more than just ingesting calories to
turn into energy
yes, it fulfills a biological need, but coming together at a
table is a ritual whith a long
o substantive theorists would argue that something fundamental is
lost when we replace such human practices with mere biological
necessity
technologies established a distance

Ambivalence Theory
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premise: techonolgy is not neautral but is rather amblivant, cabable of

various alternative developments

technology does shape the world but could be positive or negative, depens on the
situaion

technology does not determine change, but it encourages us to take certain
directions (Turkle 2)
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influences what we think and how we think

ex: online avatars and social interaction
o a safe space for playing with different identities and personal
experimentation
o may make it more difficult to develop authentic selves
o often provides the illusion of companionship without the demands of
friends
other quote by turke, page 4 of article despite the ever. Scary. Safe. Yet in
the real world good and evil. The new culture [around information
technology].

Substantive + ambivalence theory = Critical theory of technology

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by rejecting instrumental theory and the notin of neutrality, we open up

potential space for more nuanced engagement

o if technologies shape, and are shaped by, organizing principles

(ideologies), they can
Writing as technology (ong)
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writing is a technology

Oral culture
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myth and history- local narratives, cosmology, etc.

o memorization and repetition
mnemonics, poetics, proverbs, aphorism, etc
in oral cultures, everybody must repeat the truths that have
come from ansestors otherwise we will lose those truths
by a large margin, most of human history has been ora, rather than written
o homo sapiens have existed for ~50,000 years
o oldest textual script is only 6000

The shift in Literacy

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writing as a second order function

o language develops more or less naturally; writing must be taught
we do not realize that most of our day is spent reading and writing (text
messages, internet, etc) through texts

Platos critique of writing
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because it is a second order function, plato (speaking thru Socrates) asserted

that writing was unnatural and alien
do not mistake this with ong thing