Our topic is the philosophy of technology, whats the first book you ve chosen on it. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. Recent attempts by american colleges and universities to teach ethics for scientists and engineers deserve strong praise. This book is simply the best introduction to the philosophy and politics of technology. Now, with the existential threat of global climate change on the horizon, the everprovocative michael taussig asks what function a newly invigorated mimetic faculty might exert along with such change.
Aristotles on rhetoric, book 3 book 3 is often not assigned or not emphasized in rhetorical theory or history of rhetoric courses. Drawing from dantes dark epic poem, langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust. Against this backdrop, langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. The best books on philosophy of technology five books. This book was set by to the lighthouse press, printed in the united states of america. The whale and the reactor by langdon winner a book.
The presumed revolutionary promise of information technology and computers is selfserving and ideological. Because it can flow so quickly, so freely through computer networks, it will not, in this interpretation, cause the kinds of stratification associated with traditional forms of property, nmr 591. Pdf the book of symbols reflections on archetypal images. In the book the whale and the reactor, winner langdon talks about. Langdon winner is the thomas phelan chair of humanities and social sciences at rensselaer polytechnic institute.
Langdon winner has been appointed to an endowed chair at rensselaer, the thomas phelan professor of humanities and social sciences. Information measurement and information technology. The myth of the machine, the pentagon of power volume 2 of myth of the machine, lewis mumford. No generic book summaries, but the specific content you need to ace your exams. These assertions about the economic and social benefits facing developing countries, and latin america in particular, as a result of information policies reveals the nature of the myth of the information age. In the article, mythinformation, langdon winner claims that the recent explosion in the use of computers and advanced communications is producing a sweeping set of transformations in every corner of social life langdon 589. A search for limits in an age of high technology, edited by langdon winner, 1939. Myth information refers to a piece of information that is created using misconceptions and myths. Engineering ethics and political imagination springerlink. Reading 7 mythinformation by winner, langdon technology and.
Chapter 6 deals with mythinformation or the myth that increased access to information via computers and networks leads to increased individual democratic power. Help us improve our author pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography. Professor langdon winner rensselaer polytechnic institute. Books, magazine articles, and newsmedia specials declare that this. A search for limits in an age of high technology by langdon winner. The best books on philosophy of technology recommended by evgeny morozov.
More notes on langdon winner s the whale and the reactor, published in 1986. Autonomous technology by langdon winner, 9780262730495, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Table of contents, preface, and chapter 1 of critical theory of technology critical theory of technology andrew feenberg. He argues that it is in fact a revolution, but not in the usual way the term is used. Winner quotes many computer enthusiasts on this manner and i agree with the statement that says, information will become the dominant form of wealth. Part of the boston studies in the philosophy of science book series bsps, volume 90. But i prefer to think of him as a public historian who raises the very questions many of us are reluctant to ask about new information technologies. For centuries, humans have excelled at mimicking nature in order to exploit it.
All of these books seek to make visible the hidden politics of technology by overturning the myth of impartial code, and excavating the biases and bodies in the machine. By bringing some very interesting critical theory to his reading, wilson has produced a book that will shift the terms of discussion on this event. Eventually the company took a stand and asked the chinese to simply ban them if their respective ideologies couldnt mesh together. Winner introduces the idea of mythinformation as the almost religious conviction that widespread adoption of such. He uses these ideas as a springboard to cover many of the ideas they brought up with much more depth and clarity. In his analysis of mythinformation, langdon winner addresses the idea. According to langdon winner, it is not understanding, enlightenment, critical thought, timeless. Books based on myths, legends, fairy tales, and folktales. Joseph campbell was a celebrated american scholar who studied mythology, having popularized the idea of the heros journey. The basic argument is not that some persons or groups promote technology against the public interest true though that is, or even that our technology develops in its own way in spite of all our efforts to control it also true in some respects. Reviews readers interested in technology, politics, and social change will find autonomous technology a useful guide and a thoughtful inquiry into. Mastery of nonmastery in the age of meltdown, taussig. A search for limits in an age of high technology by langdon winner, technology and. Its causes and alternatives, pacific focus on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at.
His interests include science, technology, american popular culture, and theories of sustainability. Initially published in a university press in a scientific magazine, it can be assumed that his intended audience is the scientific community. Summary of 2 pages for the course technology dynamics at tu delft. Books, magazine articles, and newsmedia specials declare that this upheaval is. Winner known for his writings on science, technology and society explores computer revolution. In a beautifully crafted essay called mythinformation, he deconstructs many. It may be inspired by mythology, but i do not think it is based around it. Although ludwig wittgenstein did not offer a fully developed philosophy of technology, his writings contain an approach to inquiry that can be employed to explore situations in which people contend with technological devices and systems. Autonomous technology by langdon winner, published in 1978 obviously before the internet became a sensation. The specter of computer revolution is haunting modern society.
At issue is the claim that the machines, structures, and systems of modern material culture. The best books on philosophy of technology five books expert. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Langdon winner explores the scope of this term in computer industry contrasting it with a political revolution. Mary shelley grew to see the moral darkness of the free love and technological triumphalism that marked the radical london milieu of her youth. In the whale and the reactor 1986, langdon winner argues that technologies have politics and should not. The almost religious conviction that a widespread adoption of computers and communications systems, along with broad access to electronic information, will automatically produce a better world for humanity. Autonomous technology by langdon winner, published in 1978 obviously. Lindblom, robert marotto, james oconnor, thomas rockmore, and langdon winner. They represent a shift away from the idea that questions about ethics and morality are best left to humanists or to elder statesmen of science, a recognition that such matters ought to be an important part of education in the technical professions. This study of the idea of technology out of control makes an important contribution to our understanding of the problems of civilization. Computer advocates have not thought through the poutical dimensions of their socalled revolution, but are as naively utopian as the enthusiastic apologists for earlier technologies. Langdon winner born august 7, 1944 is thomas phelan chair of humanities and social sciences in the department of science and technology studies at rensselaer polytechnic institute, troy, new york. The power of myth is a book based on the sixepisode documentary joseph campbell and the power of myth, in which campbell and interviewer bill.
The chair was created in honor of thomas phelan, former dean of the school of humanities and social sciences here and leader of the school when the department of science and technology studies began in the early 1980s. Langdon winner has made a name for himself as something of a neoluddite or. In controversies about technology and society, there is no idea more pro vocative than the notion that technical things have political qualities. The bbc has described us as more addictive than nicotine, come share your thoughts instead of your facebook pictures. Reading 7 mythinformation by winner, langdon technology. For those who do not have the faintest idea of what a computer program is, the book. Langdon winner has made a name for himself as something of a neoluddite or technophobe. Taken as a whole, beliefs like these make up what i call mythinformation. Thanks are also due to ruth heifitz, paul thomas and sandra djikstra. Winner known for his writings on science, technology and society explores computer revolution, its social and ethical issues in this chapter 6, making it an interesting read. It can also be found in countless books on cyberspace, the internet, and. Winner discusses a wide range of literature on the subject, from authors such as jacques ellul, marx, heidegger, and others. At first glance the electronic book vendors, book stacks unlimited, and others have much to recommend them. Online shopping from a great selection at books store.
This is a period in human history in which information comes to. Invisible algorithms, invisible politics public books. A decade before the internet really began to take off. Langdon winner was born in san luis obispo, california on august 7, 1944. In this concise but ambitious historiographical essay, wilson argues for an approach to the meiji restoration that emphasizes multiple lines of motive and action. In his analysis, langdon winner addresses the idea that social processes and positive social change naturally occur as a result of computer technology. Winner is known for his articles and books on science, technology, and society. Winner brought the sensitivity of a political theorist concerned with questions of democratic control over technologies, and the control of those who are. Autonomous technology technicsoutofcontrol as a theme.
383 467 245 560 1120 328 398 394 1251 572 377 1022 354 1397 778 241 1288 1500 1408 288 1413 723 1329 232 71 504 938 936 1057 1399 502 298 760