ARTH 3002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Technological Determinism, Determinism, Unintended Consequences
19 Dec 2016
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Lecture 11 — Thu, Oct. 13, 2016
Final exam — December 12th.
Book assignment due Friday Oct 21st
Article by Lee Humphry — Overall view of Technological Determinism (TD)
Technological Determinism (TD) Overview —
Primary agent of change in the world is technology
Technology dominates society
Cause and effect are central to understanding technological determinism
Technology is the ultimate cause that brings about various effects
A history from the TD perspective seeks to understand change in the world through
technological changes
Basically, change is caused by technology…
TD is made up of two parts:
Technological (Technology) — the means to do, or accomplish, something practical or
industrial .Technology, as a result, is a tool. Technology refers to “art”, where art is the skill in
doing something well (should remind you of something we’ve seen before… the Dennis Dutton
talk on beauty)
Determinism — The assertion that human action is not free, but is necessarily decided by
external forces acting as causes or motives. Determinism suggests that everything happens
because of a particular causal chain of events, and not because of human choice. “everything
happens for a reason”, technology is the reason in TD.
Therefore…
Technology is the primary external force causing human action or activity. A chain of events
occurs as a result of technology. The inevitability of action and reaction over the course of
events. The technological path cannot be deviated from once set in motion. The societal impact
of technology is beyond human will. Technology is a blind force that dominates civilizations.
Technology produces effects on society without a plan. Technology enters every aspect of life,
such that it can’t be removed. And, to understand the social world, you must begin with
technology.
Narratives of communication technologies…
Technology — printing press
Result — Protestant reformation
Technology — newspaper
Result — nation states
Technology — Television
Result — Makes us dumb
Document Summary
Article by lee humphry overall view of technological determinism (td) Primary agent of change in the world is technology. Cause and effect are central to understanding technological determinism. Technology is the ultimate cause that brings about various effects. A history from the td perspective seeks to understand change in the world through technological changes. Technological (technology) the means to do, or accomplish, something practical or industrial . technology, as a result, is a tool. Technology refers to art , where art is the skill in doing something well (should remind you of something we"ve seen before the dennis dutton talk on beauty) Determinism the assertion that human action is not free, but is necessarily decided by external forces acting as causes or motives. Determinism suggests that everything happens because of a particular causal chain of events, and not because of human choice. Everything happens for a reason , technology is the reason in td.
