Week 2- We can’t blame technology.
Technology is intertwined with the man itself as we were born with enough intelligence to look for solutions. It’s helpful to think about the essence of technology because as Feenberg says “it is by no means irrelevant to a modern world armed with nuclear weapons and controlled by vast technology-based organizations.” Nuclear power is the best example of the importance to reflect on the “essence” of technology. In the past technology made it possible for nations smaller in the territory and population like Japan to rule over China or England to conquer North American territories. Technology doesn’t seem to be the problem, it is the man behind it that can lack values and morals or be to power-driven.
Borgman does have a valid point when he says that focal things require a certain effort and as an example, he cites fast food and microwaves killing the unity of family that are ritually reaffirmed each evening and is also valid when he says individual involvement with nature and other human has been reduced to a minimum and procession became the highest values but without disagreeing with Borgman and Heideggers I believe their theories do not offer real solutions as Feenberg said “some critique is so broad it offers no criteria for the constructive reform of technology itself. “ On the other hand, I do feel more connected to my family and old friends living overseas because of technology.
Feenberg seems to be coming from a more neutral point when he says we can’t understand technology through nostalgia; there is so much we have gained from technology that seems too nostalgic to focus on what we have lost. We chose technology every day, technology is about moving forward, and striving for the best, and doesn’t come without a price. Nothing that it was will be, we need to stand up for regulations on technologies; and on traditions and family ties, we just might need another technology to fix the problems raised by Borgman and Heidegger.
