On How Difficult it is to Philosophically Understand Technology
Abstract
Philosophy of technology has been in existence for more than half a century as an academic discipline, but authors do not agree on a common definition of technology, which appears to compromise the effort to philosophically understand it. This article examines the reasons for this difficulty and argues that it is due not only to the complexity of technology, but also to its omnipresence, frequent invisibility and ambivalence, as well as the diversity of intellectual position among philosophers. The paper also argues that more important than developing a common definition is the awareness that technology is a reality in which we are immersed without this meaning that we are incapable of studying it, and that reciprocally, what we can objectively affirm about it does not encompass its entire meaning in our lives. Finally, the paper highlights the challenge that artificial intelligence represents for the philosophy of technology.
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Wittgenstein, L. (1979). Investigações Filosóficas (trad. de Philosophische Untersuchungen, 1953). São Paulo: Ed. Abril.
Alexander, J.K. (2009). The Concept of Efficiency: An Historical Analysis, in Meijers, A. (ed.) Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences. Amsterdam: Elsevier: 1007-1029.
Baird, D. (2004). Thing Knowledge. A Philosophy of Scientific Instruments. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Borgmann, A. (1984). Technology and the character of contemporary life: a philosophical inquiry. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bunge, M. (1980). Epistemologia. São Paulo: T.A. Queiroz/Edusp. (trad. de Epistemología. Barcelona, 1980).
Bunge, M. (1985). Treatise on Basic Philosophy, vol. 7. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
Bunge, M. (1989). Treatise on Basic Philosophy. Ethics: The Good and the Right, vol. 8. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
Clark, A. (2003). Natural-Born Cyborgs. Minds, Technologies and the Future of Human Intelligence. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Cupani, A. (2006). “La peculiaridad del conocimiento tecnológico”, en Scientiae Studia (Brasil) (4) 3: 353-372.
Cupani, A. (2014). A realidade complexa da tecnologia. Caderno da Unisinos (Brasil).
Ellul, J. (1964). The Technological Society (trad. de La technique ou l´enjeu du siècle, 1954). New York: Vintage Books.
Feenberg, A. (2002). Transforming Technology. A Critical Theory Revisited. (1991). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
Ferré, F. (1995). Philosophy of Technology. (1988). Athens/London: The University of Georgia Press.
Harari, Y. N. (2016a). Sapiens. Uma breve história da humanidade, 18ª ed. (trad. de: Sapiens. A Brief History of Mankind, 2012). Porto Alegre: Ed. L&PM.
Harari, Y. N. (2016b). Homo Deus. Uma breve história do amanhã. (trad. de: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Porto Alegre: Ed. L& PM.
Heidegger, M. (1997). A questão da técnica. São Paulo: Cadernos de tradução da USP, n.2 (trad. de Die Frage nach der Technik, 1954).
Ihde, D. (1990). Technology and the lifeworld: from garden to earth. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Lacey, H. (2006). A controvérsia sobre os transgênicos: questões científicas e éticas. São Paulo: Ed. Ideias & Letras.
Marcuse, H. (1982). A ideologia da sociedade industrial (trad. de One-dimensional man, 1964). Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Zahar.
Mitcham, C. (1994). Thinking through technology: the path between engineering and philosophy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Mumford, L. (1963). Technics and civilization. (1934). New York: Harcourt Brace.
Ortega y Gasset, J. (1965). Meditación de la Técnica. (1939). Madrid: Espasa-Calpe.
Pitt, J.C. (2000). Thinking about technology: foundations of the philosophy of technology. New York: Seven Bridges.
Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly. The surrender of culture to technology. New York: Vintage.
Skolimowski, H. (1983). “The Structure of Thinking in Technology”, (orig. 1966), in C. Mitcham and R. Mackey, Philosophy and technology: readings in the philosophical problems of technology. New York: The Free Press: 42-49.
Snow, C.P. (1995). As duas culturas e uma segunda leitura (trad. de The Two Cultures and a Second Look). São Paulo: Ed. da Universidade de São Paulo.
Vincenti W. (1990). What engineers know and how they know it. London: The John Hopkins University.
Winner, L. (1986). “Do Artifacts have Politics?”, in L. Winner, The Whale and the Reactor. A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology. Chicago/London: The University of Chicago Press: pp. 19-39.
Wittgenstein, L. (1979). Investigações Filosóficas (trad. de Philosophische Untersuchungen, 1953). São Paulo: Ed. Abril.
Cupani, A. O. (2018). On How Difficult it is to Philosophically Understand Technology. Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology, 7(2), 127–144. https://doi.org/10.14201/art201872127144
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