Critical Theory of technology

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Andrew Feenberg, in the first line of his book, Critical Theory of Technology, poses the question, "Must humans submit to the harsh logic of machinery, or can technology be redesigned to better serve its creators?" He leaves the reader to wonder how much power technology exactly has in determining cultural and social values and whether the “side effects outweigh the benefits” (v). Feenberg, however, does not argue whether technology is good or bad, but instead he explores “the variety of possible technologies and paths of progress” that technology offers from which we must choose (v). The values that technology embodies need to be explored and critiqued in order to understand “another possible industrial civilization based on other values” (Feenberg v). In his book, Feenberg explores technological values in order to attempt to understand other possible industrial revolutions.

In the Introduction of his book, or "The Parliament of Things" or "The Varieties of Theory," Feenberg states, “Critical Theory argues that technology is not a thing in the ordinary sense of the term but an ‘ambivalent’ process of development suspended between different possibilities” (Feenberg 15). He furthers his discussion of the significance of ambivalence stating that technology is not neutral but instead it has a social role through “the social values in the design, and not merely the use, of technical systems” (Feenberg 15). To Feenberg, technology is therefore a “scene of struggle” instead of a destiny (Feenberg 15). In other words, according to Feenberg, due to the modernization of society, new forms of oppressions and new challenges become apparent.

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Feenberg’s Critical Threory of Technology is divided into the following parts, according to Feenberg to understand technology a reflection on a larger context is needed (Feenberg v).

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• 1. Introduction: The Parliament of Things (or The Varieties of Theory)

PART I - MARXISM

• 2. Minimalist Marxism

• 3. Contradictions of the Transition

PART II - ACTION

• 4. The Bias of Technology

• 5. Postindustrial Discourses

PART III - CULTURE

• 6. The Dilemma of Development

• 7. The Promise of Civilizational Change

PART IV - CONCLUSIONS

• 8. The Critical Theory of Technology

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[edit] References

Feenberg, Andrew. Critical Theory of Technology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.