Philosophies of Technologies

Introduction to Part 2

This second part involves technology’s scientific aspect. Today, our technical tools have acquired unprecedented power and granularity. Since the 1970s, when personal computers first came about in the world of work, their use has profoundly transformed our forms of life – communication and payment capabilities, access to knowledge and entertainment – and all facets of existence – professional, economic, social or intimate – have been affected at an unrivalled pace. By comparison, the spread of the steam engine looks like the tortoise struggling against Achilles’ stride, without the support of Zeno of Elea’s illusory paradox.

In the face of these changes, there are critical epistemological questions. What do contemporary technologies produce, and how solid, fragile, flawed, misunderstood or even misconceived are they? The speed of innovation and the complexity of the tools used mean that very few scholars are in a position to judge the epistemological robustness of the solutions adopted. The problem is therefore not only theoretical, but also practical, and is proving decisive insofar as the use of our technical capabilities can modify our future in both time and form. Our capacity for insight is essential if we are to tackle this issue, and distinguish between what are changes, or even crises, and what are merely transient or superficial states.

The end of scientific theory¹ has been announced, and thanks to our technical tools, scientists have never ...