The Philosophy of Technology, Making Better Something We Haven't Yet Invented

Philosophy isn't always looking backwards. Sometimes it is arguing forward, and where better to argue than the subject of shoes; err, I mean, technology. My son just walked into my library took one look at these shoes (above) and said to me: "Men respond to cars the way women respond to shoes." 

And he's right. Well, mostly. But the one thing upon which both genders usually agree is the benefits of technology, or applied science. Technological advancement is what keeps contemporary society connected. Not only is technology a formidable economic force but it is a cultural and philosophical one, as well. 

Science is the concern of what is, whereas technology concerns itself with what is to be. Having worked with engineers for the last 20 years, I have heard it said this way: 

"Scientists want to figure out what's going on and how it works; engineers are busy figuring out how it ought to work, but better."

In other words, technology aims to change the world into what we most desire it to be. Theoretically, a future philosophy of technology will include questions about what drives the innovation process, the importance of brainstorming, the casual relationship between intuitive judgment and scientific methods on the basis of empirical evidence (or, that which is derived from data mining), and shoes, lots of shoes. 

Let us consider design; its process and the artefacts produced. If engineers are focused on problem solving, by design, then each new upgrade should theoretically address a specific problem encountered in daily life. This includes hunger and other aspects of inequality. Apps on how to grow your own food, DIY projects to improve your standard of living, and other life hacks would become piecemeal upgrades, a product of social engineering, as we think about how each component or feature will improve the lives of millions.  

Let us say for example that a team of experts figure out how to extend human life by two or three hundred years. Should they? Who decides? Who pays for the additional load on our planet's resources? A number of ethical themes arise before the design process. Do we design obsolescence into an object? If you own a GE appliance, you may already know the answer to this question. 

 

Responsibility has long since been a central theme in the ethics of technology. The traditional philosophy of ethics claims we are responsible for the technologies we develop. Is that not akin to saying that the engineer is guilty if his/her technology saves a person's life and that later that same person commits a crime? 

Philosophical questions lead to scientific theories and experiments, which then get developed into the technology upon which we rely. The philosophy of technology is essentially asking how to make better something we haven't yet invented. 

Raising Funny Kids 35: We Love Technology, but Enough's Enough

Okay, admittedly, we own nearly every desirable gadget under the sun. Some we purchased in the name of education, some in the name of rewards, some, just because they were très kewl. 

However, lately, we've felt as if we have technological poisoning. We have all spent far too much time on our computers and we can feel those effects in increased lethargy, body stiffness and overall physical discomfort (i.e., we feel burned out). 

In an information age society, the computer acts as a tool to bring in information. However, when we find ourselves sitting there for extended periods of time "thinking" rather than utilizing the computer for its intended purpose, our sense of balance and discipline is naturally called into question. 

Given our travels, we get much from our computers. We have access to friends and family, bank accounts, school, YouTube, iTunes, and the list goes on... 

Computers offer a rainbow of experiences that contradict with our ability maintaining overall balance in our lives. We read on electronic devices, we compose or write on electronic devices, we eat near our electronic devices, and we overexpose our biological systems to electronic devices - which seems to result in a complete washout of our physical systems. 

Nomadic, exploratory education requires exploring - getting off the computer and out into the field. Technology restricts our physical movements. Foucault's disciplinary societies operate through continual control and instant communication, which isn't always good. It's important to think before we speak (and communicate). There's value to allowing thoughts to develop in our brains before we share them.

Institutions are spreading through captive, tuned-in audiences. We are creating a culture of worker-schoolkids or bureaucrat-students willingly chained to their desks (laptops or cell phones). Redefining educational models that result in "glued to the screen students" are not models redesigned. They simply offer a new tool along with "new" ways of stuffing in "old" information. 

A truly unique educational model looks to varied experiences through travel and exploration of unique locations, via crafts and construction or cooking.  An individual's hometown can serve as a new location if they haven't seen all that their town or city has to offer. 

Take the touristic approach and explore your hometown and I bet you'll be amazed by what you see and learn. More importantly, your kids won't be bored. They'll be on the lookout for new opportunities and new ways of thinking about things they have long dismissed as "old news". 

Turning exams into continuous assessments turns education itself into a business. In this manner, new educational models that are currently being designed are simply replacing the post-industrial factory mindset. These models are supported by the elusive and abstract concept of continuing education and are becoming the means to providing society with a continuous stream of human capital for the knowledge economy. 

When human capital replaces humans, we have to step back and recognize that we have gone from being an individual to a dividual, a market statistic, part of a sample, an item in a data bank. 

Getting off the computer, no matter how much we love the darn thing, disrupts the prevailing order of things by increasing the positive effects of exploring and personal, direct sharing, which is novel, unpredictable, unforeseeable, and, oh so, enjoyable.