Technology doesn't need to be new, timely, scientific, or even instrumental. True, those are common conceptions of what the word means. But when asked what technology is, what the essence of technology is, or what the prerequisites for a technological thing are, I'm willing to bet that most can't give answers (and if they can there is probably going to be quite a bit of disagreement).
'Technology' is derived from the greek 'technikon'. Technikon refers to that which belongs to techne. Techne is, essentially, a way to know things. In "The Question Concerning Technology", Martin Heidegger shows how technology is more a mode of perception and understanding than it is an adjective for the new or instrumental. He isn't alone in this line of thought. To name a few others, Walter Benjamin (The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction), Jean Baudrillard (Simulacra and Simulation (the Matrix draws a lot from this book)), and even Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) seem to think that technology refers not to objects around us, but the way we understand those objects, other people, and in general the world around us. Here is an interesting link for those interested in the interplay of "technology" and society: www.ctheory.com Cheers, joshua hill ----- Original Message ----- From: "FC3 Richards" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Giles Dickerson'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <313@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2001 6:17 PM Subject: RE: [313] Is "technology" just a "new invention"? > i thought technology was called technology because it was the science of > technical stuff.... > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Giles Dickerson [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 10:30 AM > > To: laura gavoor; James Bucknell > > Cc: 313@hyperreal.org > > Subject: [313] Is "technology" just a "new invention"? > > > > Think about this. > > > > Technology is called technology because it is new, timely, and a lot of > > these arguements I've seen have been typical technology versus > > instrumentation...etc... > > > > .org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
